The cross-party support for a holistic approach to the mushrooming petroleum product vending spots across the nation is heartwarming. That is an ample suggestion that the time to act is now.
There is no time to wait now that the momentum is high for an immediate action. There has never been such a loud national cry for action against an anomaly; not even the galamsey menace received such a national reaction.
We are relieved at the prospect that Ghanaians would join hands with the authorities when the bulldozers move to the sites for action. Nobody who loves this nation should stand in the way of the pending action against the dangerous vending points.
As we pointed out already, state agencies responsible for managing the location of gas and petrol stations should be held responsible for the rather chaotic landscape. A pressure group, the Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) have already said it and we cannot dispute this stance.
There is something about the petroleum industry which makes many politicians whose party is in power want to construct fuel or gas station.
We wish to commend the Energy Minister for directing the relevant agencies to empanel a 200-man auditing team to commence inspecting the gas and petroleum facilities across the country.
Residents in areas where such facilities are springing up should be encouraged to report the anomalies to the relevant agencies for prompt action.
We have taken serious note of the remarks of Hon Mahama Ayariga about the factors which militated against the success of his efforts to audit and close down filling stations in the aftermath of the Circle disaster.
Juxtaposing the foregone against the useless efforts by an NDC MP to politicize the issue of gas explosions, exposes the hypocrisy of some politicians in this country. In the same vein therefore the Circle disaster can be attributed to the NDC administration. In fact there are cogent points to buttress this suspicion since, after all, the so-called Dubai project and the attendant poor drainage system at the place was somewhat responsible for the flooding and the fuel leakage and the fire. What about that?
We must guard against unnecessary allegations which expose not only the political imbecility of their origins but make people lose confidence in politicians.
‘Not all politicians tell lies’ was what President Akufo-Addo said recently when he addressed an audience during his recent visit to the Northern Regional.
Tomorrow Cabinet would meet as the President announced and the issue of the recurring gas explosions in the light of the breaches of standards in the petroleum industry would be high on the agenda.
Ghanaians would be eager for the outcome of the meeting which we can vouch would be swift and decisive.
Leadership is about taking decisions for the general good of the country. It is for this reason that we urge the President to be as resolute on the subject as he did the galamsey menace. With the goodwill of Ghanaians, victory is certain. It is now or never, President Akufo-Addo. This is the nation’s clarion cry.
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