The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) last Friday launched the pilot phase of the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM), which will lead to the rollout of a nationwide ‘door-to-door’ distribution of gas distribution in the country.

The pilot is the third after a similar exercise was held in the Ashanti region.

Speaking at the ceremony held under strict Covid-19 protocols, Alhassan Tampuli, Chief Executive of the Authority, said Ghanaians will be encouraged to fully participate in the rollout.

He said the safety inspection division of the Authority will be at hand to assist with the required safety features of distribution outlets.

On the choice of Yendi for the pilot, Mr Tampuli said the municipality was selected because it links major towns such as Salaga and Bimbilla, which are commercially viable towns in the northern part of the country.

Chairman of the Pilot Implementation Committee, Kweku Agyeman Duah, who is also the Chief Executive of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, was confident the team will continue to monitor challenges picked from previous pilot programmes and will work to ensure they are addressed.

“We do pilot to help guide us identify problems and fix them, as we go along,” he said.

Chief Executive of Yendi Municipal Assembly, Alhaji Hammed Abubakari Yussif, dispelled claims that the programme will disrupt the business activities of those in the sale of firewood.

“This is a safer way of addressing the associated health issues in the firewood business,” he said.