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A new fuel station at Mile 7 in Accra said to belong to a Member of Parliament has been pulled down with two others ordered to stop work for failure to produce permits.

It formed part of the war against the establishment of unauthorised fuel stations in some residential areas in Accra and Tema.

On Sunday a Total Filling Station at the Community 1 Market in Tema was closed down due to a leakage.

On Monday the new one at Mile 7, Achimota in Accra was also pulled down for lack of a permit.

Reports suggested it belonged to a Member of Parliament in Accra who has been accused of building the fuel station without a permit.

The District Chief Executive for Ga West, Mr Sam Atukwei Quaye who confirmed it declined to name the owner but said it belonged to a Member of Parliament.

Thugs said to be agents of the MP in their bid to stop the demolition exercise manhandled the District Chief Executive.

The DCE said the owner of the station has since personally visited him to apologize but refused to name him.

“I think that it would be unfair for me to put his name out there. Obviously he doesn’t come from the district,” Mr Atukwei told Accra based radio station, Joy FM.

He said the owner has shown remorse and pledged to follow the law to do the right thing.

Graphiconline's reporter Dominic Moses Awiah who went on a tour in Accra Monday morning with officials of the Ministry of Environment as part of the war on unauthorised fuel stations, reported that notices have also been served on two filling stations at Madina and on the Spintex Road to close down after the owners failed to produce permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Owners of the Engen Filling Station at Madina and the Total Service Station at Baatsonaa were also asked to close down the other businesses they had established close to the fuel stations.

Although the owners were able to produce permits from the EPA, they were unable to show any document granting them the permission to establish other businesses such as restaurants, salons and leisure centres close to the fuel stations.

A number of businesses, particularly food joints, were also ordered to shut down for being sited close to fuel stations, Awiah reported.

A team of government officials, led by the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Mr Mahama Ayariga, and the Executive Director of the EPA, Mr Daniel Amlalo, who visited some fuel stations Monday, said most fuel stations had flouted EPA regulations.

The minister tasked the EPA to conduct an exercise at all fuel stations in the country to ascertain whether they had permits and were adhering to the required standards.

 

Background

A twin fire and flood disaster last Wednesday night left more than 150 people dead after an explosion at the GOIL Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.

Houses and properties running into billions of Ghana cedis were also destroyed.

Following the disaster, the MESTI and the EPA initiated steps to check all fuel stations in the country to know whether owners of the stations were operating legally.

 

EPA on the move

Mr Amlalo said the EPA and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) had decided to stop the issuance of new permits for fuel stations in order to rid the system of all irregularities.

He said the EPA was working with the authorities involved to ensure that fuel stations would not be sited close to any fire activities.

“We will enforce strict and strong standards regarding the location of fuel stations,” Mr Amlalo said.