While some said they had just been made aware of the issue following the confirmation of the takeoff date, others said they were aware but had no idea about how it was going to work.

Model

The model, being championed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), requires LPG users to only pick filled up cylinders and pay for the content after registering with a verifiable national identity card.

This is due to the envisaged phased implementation of the CRM under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy.

The rollout will begin in Accra and Kumasi next month, and gradually be spread across the country.

In a random interaction with some LPG consumers in Accra, one of two cities where the model is set to begin, the concern that ran among the interviewees is that there was the need for more education to prevent any confusion about the policy.

They said the lack of education on how the policy would work could  lead to chaos and misunderstanding at  exchange points.

Some also posited that though paying for only the content of cylinders was laudable, they would prefer to fill and keep their personal cylinders in their homes rather than picking up cylinders circulating in different homes across the whole country.

“I don’t have any knowledge about it, but I think it’s a good thing that cylinders are going to be recirculated. However, the public should be educated on it well before it takes off,” a pastor at God’s General Assembly, Edem Tamakloe, stated.

“I haven’t heard of anything like that, but I think it’s very good. I didn’t know about it so I think the public should also be educated on it. Gas is very good and essential so they should implement the policy,” another consumer, Portia Awuah Baffour, who works at a factory, said.

Another consumer, Naa Adoley Mensah, who will prefer to keep her own cylinder, explained: ”I will send my well-kept cylinder and may be given an old one which could pose a threat to my safety at home. It may be a good idea, but I’d prefer to fill and keep my own cylinders.”

Education ongoing

The Communications Manager of NPA, Mohammed Abdul Kudus, reacting to the need for more education,  said his outfit had done enough public education ahead of the implementation date.

That notwithstanding, he said educating the public would be a  continuous process so as to bring more Ghanaians along from now till September.

“We believe we have done enough education. The issue of education is subjective. What is enough for one person may not be enough for another person."

“However, we will intensify the education between now and September both in the traditional and new media, to ensure that people understand the issues well,” he said.

Mr Kudus stated that stakeholder engagement, public education and piloting the project began as far back as 2017, adding that there was no need holding back the project due to calls for public education.

“We started stakeholder meetings and education from 2017, and after that we did pilot projects in some regions, including Kade in the Kwaebibirim Municipality in the Eastern Region,” he said.

Registration

Mr Kudus explained that any national and verifiable identity card, including passport, voter card, driving licence and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards, as well as the Ghana Card, would be accepted for registration.