GHACCO calls for resolution of LPG operators strike action
The Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels (GHACCO) has appealed to stakeholders in the energy sector to find an amicable solution to the strike action embarked on by the Ghana LPG Operators Association (GLiPGOA).
The GLiPGOA, on Monday, embarked on a nationwide strike against government’s proposed cylinder recirculation module, which the LPG retailers believe would kick them out of business.
The GHACCO made the appeal in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mohammed Aminu Lukumanu, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday.
It called on the National Petroleum Authority, GLiPGOA, the Ministry of Energy, the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and the Cylinder Re-Circulation Policy Implementation Committee to intervene to settle the issues.
The statement said resolving the issues would help abate any distortions in the distribution of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the benefit of consumers.
It recounted the challenges the country went through during the introduction of LPG as household cooking fuel, about 30 years ago.
“LPG is and remains one of the cleanest fuels for indoor cooking in Ghana and it is also very effective for reduction of household air pollution and the negative health consequences of air pollution, which has been found to account for an estimated 17,000 deaths in Ghana alone and around four million deaths globally, on annual basis.”
The statement said substantial efforts had been invested by all stakeholders in getting over 18.2 per cent of Ghanaian households to adopt LPG for indoor cooking.
“It is the target of the energy sector to step up LPG use to about 40 per cent of Ghanaian households by 2030. The immediate benefit of achieving this target is substantial reduction in levels of household air pollution and its associated ailments and deaths, especially among our women and children, which must not be ignored for any reason,” the statement said.
GHACCO believed that the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels such as LPG for indoor cooking would significantly help save the lives of thousands of women and children who suffer from heart and respiratory related ailments from the air pollution and excessive heat generated from the use of traditional wood and charcoal stoves and biomass, it said.
It said the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels would mitigate the climate change and environmental effects of indiscriminate destruction of the forest for firewood and charcoal production, which contributed to the loss of about three per cent of the forest, annually.
Investment into the development and deployment of clean cooking technologies and fuels also hold greater prospects for job creation and income opportunities for the youth and women of the country, the statement said.
Source: GNA