Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority, says the most significant impediment to the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) is the establishment of bottling plants and the supply of cylinders.
“Mr Chairman, it is worth noting that for the CRM to fully roll out, we require three cylinders per household or cylinder user,” he said.
“This is because you have to have one you’re using and there should be one waiting for you at the exchange point, which you can pick when the other gets finished, while one should be on its way to the bottling plant for filling. So for every user, we require three,” he said.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
Dr Abdul-Hamid stated this when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament to answer questions and provide updates on the CRM.
The Cylinder Recirculation Model is a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketing model that entails filling cylinders at large refilling plants and delivering them to consumers at specialised retail outlets, known as exchange points.
The policy is intended to provide guidance and a framework for industry safety legislation and operational standards.
Given the importance of LPG to the national economy, Abdul-Hamid said the Government is committed to ensuring a consistent supply of LPG as well as increasing access from 25 to 50 per cent nationwide by 2030.
“Mr Chairman, by 2030, the CRM Policy is to ensure that at least 50 per cent of Ghanaians have access to safe, clean, and environmentally friendly LPG for increased domestic, commercial, and industrial use,” he said.
Dr Abdul-Hamid expressed optimism that Ghana would have three functional bottling plants by August, despite Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company’s inability to supply the required number of cylinders for the CRM rollout.
“Mr Chariman, with this, we can begin to roll out, even if only in Greater Accra and the Ashanti regions for the time being, so that as we develop, we can continue to roll out others.”
“So we’re hoping that by the end of the year, CRM will have begun in some form, either partially or completely.”
