Gas Shortage Hits Accra & Tema

An acute Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) shortage has hit Accra, Tema, Ashaiman and other parts of the country, forcing consumers to return home from gas filling stations with empty cylinders. There are reports of long queues in Tema, Ashaiman, Adenta, Santa- Maria, Dzowulor, Medina, Dasoman, Achimota, Keneshie and Sege and fruitless searches by consumers in some parts of the Volta Region and Eastern region. The users of the product for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes may have sighs of relief following inadequate measures put in place by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to safeguard the alarming situation. Today�s attempts to seek clarification from the Public Relations Officer of the NPA, Mr. Yaro Kasambata, proved futile. Users of LPG in Accra, Tema, Ashaiman and parts of the Eastern and Volta regions who had thronged the filling stations for gas yesterday had to go home with empty cylinders, as the product had run out at the various filling stations. At the various gas filling stations in Tema and Ashaiman including Star Gas Filling station, Keyses Gas Filling Station, Engel Gas Filling Station, Ashaiman Fiter Line Gas Filling Station, Stop Oil and Trinity Oil the signs of No Gas was boldly displayed at the entrances. At the Go Gas LPG filling station at Santa-Maria Last Stop in Ga Central Municipality and the Kawukudi Junction, near the Accra Girls� Senior High School, the same �NO GAS� sign was boldly displayed at their entrances. The attendants of the above-mentioned gas filling stations told Today that their outfit had run out of stock on Monday, adding that the stations expected supplies from next week. The shortage is already biting hard on taxi drivers and food vendors who depend on the product to operate. A disappointed taxi driver in Tema, Agbenyefiah Ayedzi, whose car runs on LPG, said he had used the little gas he had in the car while searching for some to buy in Tema and Accra. �I have to drive my car from Tema to Accra to search gas but could not get some to buy so l have to park the vehicle and stay at home until I get some,� he said. A fried yam seller near the Santa-Maria Last Stop Lorry Park said she had to fall on charcoal in order to stay in business after a fruitless search for gas yesterday. The situation was not different at the Dzorwulu LPG Station, Shiashie Goil Station and Rootsener Gas Filling Station at Ashaley Botwe which did not have gas at the time of Today�s visit, with no attendant to speak to. At the Amoh Gas Limited Station at Achimota-Apenkwa, there was a long queue of gas cylinders waiting to be filled. At the Naadab Gas Station located at Tesano, the Amoh Gas Station at Apenkwa, Trinity Gas at Alajo and two other stations located at Achimota, there was no gas as of 12 noon yesterday. In the Volta Region, consumers from Sogakope through to Aflao had no gas supplies, according to reports received by Today.