The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is having discussions with the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Finance towards the reduction of taxes on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country.
THE CUSTODIAN has learnt that even before anything is agreed, the NPA has already had a tender to reduce the suppliers premium of imported LPG.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NPA, Linda Boamah Asante, made the disclosure in a media interview in Tamale on Friday on the sidelines of a day’s sensitization exercise to promote the use of LPG and educate market women, opinion leaders among other stakeholders in the northern region on the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM).
“Although we have a local refinery and we have Ghana National Gas that produces gas, the price is always pegged to the international market; so the most important thing that we have been able to achieve now is to make sure that the cost of CRM – the policy doesn’t increase the price of getting access to LPG,” she said.
Ms. Asante further announced the various sizes of cylinders ranging from 3k, 6k, 12.5k that consumers can purchase relative to their economic status.
She noted the rationale for the introduction of the cylinder recirculation model is to make the LPG commodity available, accessible and closer to the doorsteps of the people.
“We don’t have the filling plants available and people have to go long distances to purchase it. So, the idea is to make it so close that you don’t have to travel any distance to get the product and that is another important role that we’re playing in addition to making sure that the prices goes down,” she stated.
The government is introducing the CRM policy with the aim to ensuring that about 50 per cent of Ghanaians have access to safe, clean and environmentally friendly LPG for increased domestic, commercial and industrial usage by 2030.
The CRM involves refilling LPG cylinders at large refilling plants and subsequently supplying them to consumers at specialized retail outlets known as exchange points.
The Deputy CEO in her remarks indicated the public response and feedback has been good thus far, stressing that all major stakeholders the authority has engaged have expressed excitement about the initiative but only expressed concerns about the price hikes.
However, she reiterated the measures taken to bring the prices even lower than anticipated.
