Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, has disclosed that government has given the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) the clearance to hire 200 auditors to make sure that safety standards are complied with at all gas stations across the country.

Speaking after the inauguration of the governing board of the Ghana Gas on Monday, Mr. Agyarko stated that incidents of gas explosions are one too many in the country.

“The NPA which is the regulator will be allowed to hire 200 auditors who will go from station to station to make sure that safety standards are complied with,” he revealed.

He was commenting on the gas explosion that occurred at the Atomic Junction in Accra on Saturday, October 7, 2017.

The Ministry, he said, for the past six months had been working on a new policy document to be approved by the cabinet to become operating principle.

“We have extensively engaged stakeholders in the operations of that new policy. I must admit that we have received some resistance from some vested interest who see this as impacting negatively on their businesses,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony.

“But at the end of the day what we ought to consider as a nation is the safety of our citizens over primary pecuniary interest. So it is that we will bring to the fore and make sure that the standard of care and safety around the handling of gas conforms to best international practice,” he added.