That was in line with the government's target to increase LPG penetration to 50 per cent by 2030. A Deputy Chief Executive of the Authority, Mrs Linda Asante, who made this known, said the move which is being spearheaded by the NPA Chief Executive, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, was to also encourage more women to use LPG for cooking to protect their health and save the environment.

Mrs Asante was speaking at a regional town hall durbar on the cylinder recirculation model (CRM) in Tamale last Friday (May 17). Organised by the NPA, the durbar was attended by chiefs, security officers, public servants, LPG dealers, students and traders.

Also present were officials of the NPA, namely: the Director of Gas. Akua Ntiwaa Kwakye, the Director of Corporate Affairs of NPA, Maria Oquaye, the Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of NPA, Dr Joseph Wilson, the NPA Northern Regional Manager, Theophilus Manu, the Head of Quality Control, Saeed Ubeidallah Kutia, the Head of Consumer Services, Eunice Budu Nyarko, and the Head of Regional Coordination, Aku Yuiah.

Unclean fuel

Mrs Asante said smoke from charcoal and firewood exposed mostly women and children to lung diseases such as hypertension, and that it also affected their eyes. She said LPG, on the other hand, did not emit smoke, which made it a safe and convenient means of cooking, and as such not only was LPG a safe alternative but the government had introduced the CRM policy to also make LPG more affordable, accessible and available.

Cost

The Deputy CEO of the NPA said the recent introduction of tender process by the NPA for importation of LPG had reduced the cost of the product. Therefore, she said, the reduction would cater for any additional cost associated with the CRM value chain in terms of filling cylinders and distributing same to exchange points.

"No huge jump of prices because of CRM. The tender process has brought down the price of LPG", she said. Mrs Asante thus urged the people in the north to switch from the use of charcoal and firewood to LPG to protect their health and preserve the environment, hinting that consumers would begin to access filled cylinders for exchange in their communities in the next few weeks.

The Head of Gas, Commercial Regulation of NPA, Obed  Kraine  Boachie, said four LPG cylinder bottling plants - three in Tema and one in Kumasi - had been set up to fill cylinders for distribution to LPG marketers for onward distribution to cylinder exchange points.

He said the Authority had received applications for the setting up of bottling plants in Tamale and other areas. Mr Boachie said the CRM value chain would create more jobs, and stressed that the existing LPG marketing companies would be the key drivers of the policy.

Protecting the environment

The Zagu Lana, Chief Yakubu Nantogmah,who chaired the occasion, bemoaned the continuous felling of trees for charcoal and firewood for cooking. He said the present generation was duty bound  to protect the environment for the future generation, hence the need for the people to stop cutting down  trees and switch to the use of LPG.

Officers from the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service staged demonstrations on how to put out cylinders that have caught fire by using wet towels and fire extinguishers.