Revoke Permit Of Fuel Station To Save Lives

Sometimes we behave like ostriches by failing to acknowledge the reality of issues until they hit us with dire consequences. We pretend everything is alright until disaster strikes, then we fold our clothes and run helter skelter for shelter. We connive with institutions which have the oversight to perpetuate impropriety under the cover of technicality and jargons, purposely for our own selfish ends when we know well that the interest of the generality of the people must override our parochial interest. I recall with nostalgia the number of lives lost in the past and the number of people who remain incapacitated to date as a result of the dangerous siting of fuel stations. In fact, examples abound; suffice it to mention the gas explosion in Kumasi on September 21, 2007 which injured 130 people. I am appalled by the unacceptable development in the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality which put the lives of millions of the people in the municipality and Ghanaians in danger. I am sadden anytime I see fuel stations, particularly the ones located near residences or in crowded communities. It is on the basis of these historical antecedents that I regard the siting of a fuel filing station very close to the Family Health Hospital in Teshie as dangerous and the controversy surrounding its location unnecessary. I cannot fathom, why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant agencies that are responsible for ensuring our safety in the country stood aloof while the fuel station was being constructed close to the hospital and a military facility on the Teshie-Accra road. Work on the fuel station is ongoing in spite of protests by the owners of the facility, the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality, the minister of Environment Science and Technology and a number of well-meaning Ghanaians. Everyone, regardless of their background or professions, who saw the facility at its embryonic stage was certain that that was a volcano ready to explode in no time. In fact, the minister, in a correspondence, warned against the siting of the facility there. This submission came after an environmental impact assessment of the proposed fuel station warned of a dire health consequence if the fuel station is sited near the hospital. The assessment, signed by Dr Gloria Quansah Asare, Ag Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, warned of a great health risk of leukaemia, foetal malformations and premature births. In spite of all these admonitions, even from health professionals, we have hardened our hearts, and remained adamant like the biblical Egyptian Pharaoh and continue to do what is unjust, unholy and dishonourable. The siting of a fuel station in a crowded neighbourhood such as Family Health Hospital should be considered purely as a health hazard, and not as an attempt to stifle the developmental efforts of any individual or organisation. I, therefore, appeal to all agencies responsible for this facility to revoke immediately, the permit that allows for the wrongful siting of that facility at that place. Let us collectively prevent any catastrophe. A stitch in time saves nine!