By Joyce Kantam Kolamong
Participants at a town hall meeting on Cylinder Recirculation Model, CRM, have called on the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), to make sure that the policy removes barriers in the distribution of LPG and makes it more efficient and affordable to the people.
They also urged the NPA to ensure its availability, considering that using LPG can be finished at any time.
The Town Hall held at the Centre for National Culture in Tamale was attended by opinion leaders, traders, students, women, and artisanal groups, among others.
The Cylinder Recirculation Model, CRM, is a distribution system which allows consumers to bring empty cylinders to an agreed point in exchange for a filled cylinder, while the empty bottle is transported to a bottling plant to be refilled and returned to the exchange point for pick up by other consumers.
Under this module, consumers do not own the cylinders, and anyone who wishes to use LPG can simply walk to a Cylinder Exchange Point, register, and gain access to one and only pay for the LPG.
The refilling plants are at various stages of completion, and it is expected to improve safety in the distribution of LPG and bring it closer to the people.
The Town Hall meeting aimed at educating the public on the CRM and the safe use of LPG in general, as well as the need for them to switch from firewood and charcoal to LPG.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NPA, Mrs. Linda Asante, said citizens will soon see cages in their communities where they could access Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) without having to travel long distances.
Other concerns raised by participants included the assurance of receiving the exact amount of gas they paid for when exchanging their cylinders. Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service demonstrated the safe use of LPG and how to extinguish flames.
