Story:Della Russel Ocloo, Zeenu, near Ashaiman
THE sitting of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retail outlet close to the Ashaiman Gloryland International School and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) cluster of schools at Zeenu, near Ashaiman in the Tema metropolis is creating uproar among residents in the community.
Apart from its closeness to the two schools, the facility which has a capacity of holding 45,000 liters, an approximate of 26,000 kilograms of LPG Gas is also situated at about 50 meters from an existing LPG station and two fuel stations which have been in operation in the vicinity for several years.
The residents fear that, the situation could cause havoc in the event of an explosion following the nearness of all four centers to Zeenu market as well as residential facilities within the surroundings of the outlet.
According to the residents association, various disasters recorded nation-wide which resulted from explosions in the past were wake up call for authorities to ensure the relocation of the facility.
They claim, emissions from the existing LPG facility often linger in the area for days, sometimes into weeks, thus the progression on the second facility which has been described as the biggest in the metropolis would pose greater health risks to residents and the thousands of school children learning close to the facility.
The Chairman of the Residents Association, Mr Peter Sotie, enumerating their concerns to the Daily Graphic indicated that, the location of the plant was earmarked by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) for the erection of a fuel station in 2001when a re-demarcation exercise was carried out in the area.
“After the re-demarcation, the land was resold to the present occupants who later in 2008 began construction works on the outlet against the fuel dump station in the outlined in the original layout,” he se stated.
Mr Sotie pointed out that, the new development which he described as a threatening led to the association’s decision to petition the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) amongst other stakeholder groupings.
The NPA in a correspondence signed by its former chief executive, Mr J.D Attafuah to the group denied issuing permit for the project.
The said correspondence also mandated a technical team to conduct an inspection of the area and recommend appropriate measures to forestall peace between the feuding parties.
Mr Sotie said personnel from the technical division of the NPA later toured the site on a fact finding mission in 2008 where residents were assured their concerns would be addressed appropriately.
“We were however astonished the project took off in earnest during the later part of 2009 after several agitations for its relocation,” he lamented.
Residents were of the view; the NPA technical team that inspected the project site might have compromised their position leading to the erection of the plant.
While calling on authorities to ensure a relocation of the facility, they have also called for an investigation into the activities of officials of the Tema Regional Office of the EPA, as well as those of the NPA who spearheaded the granting of permit for the construction of the facility.
The Tema Regional Manager of the EPA, Ms Irene Heathcote when contacted confirmed a receipt of complaints from the residents.
According to her, the issue which has been pending for the past three years was being addressed at the EPA head office who recently undertook a tour of the site to ascertain the reality residents’ claims.
In a sharp rebuttal, wife of the owner of the facility, Madam Pricilla Stephens in a telephone interview express disgust at the complaints of the people. She denied suggestions that, they acquired for the permit using illegitimate means, as the documents from the various agencies were granted legally for their operations.
According to her, those agitating against the sitting of the facility were illegal occupants in the area and accused the owner of the Gloryland School of inciting residents against them.
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