The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Senyo Hosi, has cautioned against calls for the removal of Chief Executive of National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Alhassan Tampuli.
He stressed that ever since assuming office, Tampuli took proactive steps to address safety challenges in the sector head on.
Speaking to The Finder, he recalled that one of the first things the NPA Chief Executive did was to invite all stakeholders to a major workshop to deliberate on safety challenges and the way forward.
Hosi explained that, it is unfortunate that even before the actions of Tampuli could start yielding results, a major gas explosion rocked Atomic Junction killing 7 and injuring 132.
He therefore called for thorough investigations into the Atomic Junction gas explosion accident and persons found culpable sanctioned.
According to him, people have failed in the discharge of their duties and government should wake up and deal with the issue at hand.
“Who are we holding accountable for the loss of lives, who is going to lose his job for this, who is going to go to prison for this, who is really going to pay for the loss of lives and the loss of property and the embarrassment this has caused the state.”
“It has to do with us purely enforcing the rules. The rules are there, people breach them and when you breach them we hold people accountable, but we never hold anybody accountable and that is the failing of government” he asked.
Hosi stressed that if the mechanism for accountability is not enforced, no policy would solve the problems.
However, he said engaging in blame game and calling for some individuals to be sacked without thorough examinations to deal with the right culprits would be counter productive.
Therefore, he said calls for the formulation of a ‘new’ policy to regulate the activities of gas stations in the country are not the solution.
According to him, the enforcement of already existing laws and constant supervision would prevent gas station disasters.
He was quick to add that it is not to say that a new policy is not necessarily welcome.
He stated that the problem at hand has to do with the concept of accountability that is totally absent in the management of the sector.
The gas explosion at the Atomic Junction Saturday evening has ignited a conversation about where fuel and gas stations should be sited in the country.
Need for accountability
Many other stakeholders have also called for a new policy to be formulated. However, Hosi holds the view that the concept of accountability, which is absent in the management of the sector is the real problem.
He said governments over the years have played around the real issues and failed to put their foot down and ensure that the right things are done regardless of who is involved.
The CEO of CBOD added that “you have to deal with the fundamental thing that has to do with the breach of rules and protocol and holding people accountable for not doing their jobs and that is where we are.
Hosi noted that at the time the gas station was established, there was minimal commercial activity in the area.
He explained that as commercial activity increased, the station should have been relocated or commercial activities restricted.
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