Story: News Desk
Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has issued an immediate suspension order for the construction of a new fuel station in Ashale Botwe.
The construction, being carried out by GOIL PLC, will be halted until thorough due diligence is conducted.
This decision was made in response to protests from residents of Ashaley Botwe, who expressed concerns about the proximity of the fuel station to their homes and the potential danger it poses to their lives.
During the protest, residents, wearing red bands to symbolize their discontent, emphasized that the area is primarily residential and expressed worries about the narrow road that would hinder safe passage for fuel tankers to discharge.
“We don’t need any fuel station here, We don’t need it. This place is a residential area, our houses are closer to the place and our children pass here to go to school. The road is even too small so where will the tanker pass to discharge, so we don’t need the fuel station here,” some residents told Citi News’ Nii Ayikwei.
Following his visit to the area on Thursday, May 25, 2024, Mr. Henry Quartey told journalists that the location of the fuel station poses a significant risk to the community’s residents.
He added that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be contacted to investigate how permission was granted for such a development in a residential area.
“We will not in any way shape or form stop any citizen or investor from investing by way of creating jobs, in the same vein we have to be careful that the welfare, security, and wellbeing of the community is also taken into consideration. Taking cognizance of what happened at Atomic Junction, this clearly cannot hold.
“I want to on behalf of REGSEC say that going forward all works here must be suspended until further notice. We will also write to EPA to find out how they arrived at granting permits for something like this to happen here…I am not an expert but this petrol station cannot be cited here.