NPA And EPA, Stop The Operation Of This Filling Station In The Middle Of Sunyani Market

Our elders say that “the tree that will one day pierce your eyes is uprooted and not pruned”. There is an eminent disaster awaiting the people of Sunyani with respect to the operation of a filling station in the center of Nana Bosoma market in Sunyani. From the acquisition of the land to the building of this station, there has been one controversy over the other and some of us cannot sit aloof for the unexpected to happen before we will start pointing fingers. I am therefore calling on the EPA, NPA, the Bono Regional Coordinating Council, the Sunyani Municipal Assembly and the Sunyani Traditional Council, to come together to stop the operation of the filling station no matter the state of its completion. On my recent visit to the town, I even heard that there is going to be an FM station in that building. This will add insult to injury to the already volatile situation the station poses.

For those who are not conversant with the location of the filling station, it is in the middle of the Nana Bosoma Market in Sunyani and is surrounded by residential buildings. Even the entrance to the station poses a great traffic risk and nobody is a prophet of doom but if God forbids, something happens at the station, it will be a big disaster. We know the owner of the station is a political heavyweight in the region but for once, let’s do the needful by not allowing the station to operate if even the building has been completed. We can’t imagine the situation where on a busy market day, there is, God forbid, an explosion, many traders in the market will lose their lives. We can’t just sit idle for a disaster to happen and our political and societal leaders will be running to the location for photo op. I am therefore being proactive and hence the call to stop the operation of the station thus preventing a possible future disaster. Talking about the owner of the station, it is no secret that it belongs to the former Bono Regional Minister, Mr. Asomah Cheremeh. Even the MP for Sunyani East and a brother to Mr. Asomah Cheremeh has made it public that the station belongs to his brother though somebody is being used to front for him. At one point, the Sunyani Traditional Council invited the owner to appear before it and guess who came? Maxwell Mahama and one lawyer who is also a Pastor in Sunyani came forward with the flimsy excuse that the owner wasn’t feeling well. Even a child in Sunyani knows that the station belongs to Mr. Asomah Cheremeh. It is this same Maxwell Mahama who wanted to take over the land belonging to the Sunyani Ridge Experimental School for his personal project and is now fronting for his “master”.

This call has become necessary because of the safety and environmental concerns. Against the backdrop of other gas explosions in Accra and other parts of the country, I am of the view that we should not wait till a disaster happens and then we will wail our teeth by which time it would be too late. On Friday, February 11, 2022 the Regional Manager of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Bono Region whilst in the company of the CEO of the National Petroleum Authority was heard on a local radio station saying that the EPA has given the clearance to the owner to commence operation of the filling station. According to him, studies done by his agency show that there is no negative safety issue that warrant the station not to be built. A check revealed that the clearance was given by the head offices of the EPA and the NPA in Accra. I am of the view that even if the clearance was given from Accra, the Regional EPA Manager should have advised the head office of the danger this facility will pose to life and property in Sunyani should their directive be implemented. .

The Atomic junction gas explosion is still fresh in our minds. In October 06, 2017 that disaster caused the death of about 7 people and about 132 injured. After the incident, the President, Nana Akuffo Addo whilst addressing the Anglican Church in Tamale said “gas explosion had become one too many in the country and it is about time a lasting solution was advanced to bring the unfortunate phenomenon to a halt”. He called for a progressive plan and policy which would see an end to such occurrence in the country. The President concluded that “Ghana cannot afford any more of such incidents”. Adding his voice to the incident, the then Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam talking about the incident in an interview on Joy FM said among other things that “many have kicked against the location of these stations in residential areas”. We should not forget the June 2005 heavy downpour in Accra and the subsequent fire explosion at the filling station that led to the death of scores of people. Looking at the many filling station disasters in the country and elsewhere, the major contributing factor that led to the loss of many lives is the location of those stations in residential areas. Anybody who knows the location of the proposed filling station in the Sunyani market will agree with me that we will be sitting on a time bomb if the station is allowed to operate. I am therefore asking the EPA to stop Mr. Asomah Cheremeh from operating the filling station.

The Sunyani Traditional Council set up a committee to look into the safety or otherwise of the location of the station at the initial stages when it was being built and the committee came out with its recommendation among which included the fact that the station should not be built there because of safety concerns. It is sad to note that after the report was presented to the Council, nothing has been heard of the issue. The Council has not taken any action on the report. I don’t want to believe the rumor circulating in town that some people or group of people have compromised their stand on the filling station. The question to the council is why hasn’t the council implemented the recommendations of the committee? Nobody should tell me that the EPA and the NPA have already given the go ahead for the project and nothing can be done because as custodians of the land, the traditional council’s decision can override that of those institutions.

The District Assembly, the fire department, the EPA and the NPA, I am told have all given the go ahead for the station to operate based on their so called safety assessment. Is it because it belongs to a politician and as such the safety of the people is sacrifice on the altar of political platform? There are certain issues that common sense should override the law. In the case of this station, the law may be used to justify the operation of it but commonsense dictate that it should not be done. The law says that the technical assessment on the safety of the station proves positive but commonsense will tell you that the location is not right.

Nobody is against the owner of filling station putting up any structure on the land or having any business at the said location but all that we are saying is that, it should not be a filling station. The Nana Bosomah market is already congested and adding a filling station to the already existing problem will not help. The impending potential disaster awaiting us should the filling station be made to operate cannot be overemphasized. Common sense will tell us that citing a filling station in the middle of a busy market like this one is the last thing one should think of. Such a filling station creates problems because of noise, pollution from gas fumes and even traffic. The Nana Bosoma market is a weekly market and people from many parts of the country come there every Wednesday and apart from the traders that come there, the location is surrounded by residential properties. The proposed filling station within that said environment is therefore unwanted and every effort should be made to stop its operation.

I am therefore calling on all who have the interest of the town at heart to rise and be counted in this David against Goliath battle. The owner might have a political weight but truth will always triumph over evil and societal good will always reign over personal interest. I am asking the NPA, EPA, the Bono Regional Coordinating Council, the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, the Sunyani Traditional Council and all other stakeholders to rally behind some of us to ensure that the right thing is done at least for once.

Augustine Boahen
Calgary, Canada
Email: osonoba58@gmail.com

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