Ashaiman residents support CRM for safe LPG use

 residents of Ashaiman have expressed their desire to adopt the Cylinder Re­circulation Model (CRM), a policy promoting safe use of liquefied Pe­troleum Gas (LPG) in the country.

This follows a four-day National LPG awareness and sensitisation campaign, which was climaxed with a durbar at the area.

The exercise is in collaboration with the Oil Sustainability Pro­gramme (OSP), an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Energy, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), and Digicraft Advertising/Brand Management. It included market activations, community durbars, and town-hall meetings.

The campaign began with mar­ket activations at Ashaiman and Tema, Madina, Nima and Achimo­ta, educating vendors and residents about the CRM. A community durbar was held at the Tema New­town Main Lorry Station, where attendees were urged to support the initiative.

Mr Johnson Gbagbo, a supervi­sor at the Gas Directorate of NPA, stressed that the Authority was engaging the Ministry of Finance to remove some taxes on LPG in order to make it more affordable and accessible to consumers.

“The prices of gas may be expensive but calculate the amount of charcoal a day. It’s at a higher cost, to purchase gas would be healthier, efficient, and more con­venient,” he stressed.

Speaking at the town hall durbar held at the Assemblies of God Church, Central Assembly at Ashaiman, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman Constit­uency, Mr Ernest Henry Norgbey, expressed happiness about the campaign, particularly in relation to women’s education, saying, “I am happy that the NPA is here to create awareness, especially for our women, and to educate us about the use of gas,” he said.

The legislator highlighted the importance of safe use of LPG, citing recent fire incidents in specific electoral areas at Ashaiman that resulted in injuries and loss of property. He urged the NPA to make the initiative an annual programme, rather than a one-time project.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman for Ashaiman Constitu­ency, Mr Narh-Gbeeku Alexander Amanor, who chaired the occasion, touched on the importance of col­lective support for the initiative.

“Let us unite in embracing this programme, as its benefits will be felt by all of us,” he stressed

A representative of Digicraft Advertising/Brand Management, Prince Opoku, mentioned the need for the people to be wary of the health risks of using charcoal and firewood.

Mrs Eunice Budu Nyarko, Head of Consumer Services at NPA, said the programme was aimed at achieving the objective of remov­ing barriers to energy access in developing markets, accelerating technology developments and reducing environmental impact of conventional energy sources, among others.

She explained that the collab­oration was centred on end-user sensitisation campaign to promote LPG adoption and behavioral change, Knowledge transfer and training towards the deployment of technology across the CRM value chain for efficiency and accountability, collaboration with cylinder manufacturing companies to ensure availability of LPG cylin­ders and identify opportunities for investment in the LPG distribution infrastructure.

“The OSP’s recognition of part­nership is crucial to the successful rollout of the CRM, targeting sus­tainable energy, access and reduced environmental impact,” she added.

The team also engaged with mar­ket patrons at Madina, Nima, and Achimota, promoting safe use of LPG and the benefits of CRM