The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Marketers Association has said that the government's implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has been unsuccessful.

According to him, the NPA has not been practical with the implementation of the programme.

Speaking to Joy Business, Gabriel Kumi, Vice President of the LPG Marketers Association said his outfit which is a key stakeholder in the industry was not adequately engaged.

“We haven’t really seen the practical implementation of the policy on the grounds. The programme has failed".

He, however, urged the NPA to go back to the drawing table to ensure effective implementation of the policy.  

But Abbas Tasunti, the Head of Pricing Regulations at the NPA, said his outfit has set up the needed structures in collaboration with the various stakeholders to kick-start the full implementation of the CRM across the country.

“Just yesterday we’ve had meetings with the bottling plants and their marketers. What we are expecting to have is that, right from this quarter [quarter one, 2024], we are going to start seeing the cages at the various filling stations,” he said.

He further added that "over 100-cylinder exchange points have been approved to start operation.”

The NPA said the proposal for the open competitive tenders was approved after consultation with Bulk Import, Distribution, and Export Companies (BIDECs) with a majority of them supporting it.

The authority indicated that the quantity being tendered per month represents about 70.0% of Ghana’s monthly LPG consumption with the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) supplying the remainder.

The LPG Marketers welcomed the tendering process but raised concerns about the ramifications this may have on the market should the single Bulk Distribution Company approved by the NPA, failed to meet the needed domestic demand within the stated period.

Mr. Tasunti indicated that the CRM and the revised mode of LPG implementation were expected to run concurrently.

The National Petroleum Authority, NPA rolled out the Cylinder Recirculation Programme to ensure that at least 50.0% of Ghanaians have access to safe, clean, and environmentally friendly LPG by 2030.