{"id":116066,"date":"2026-02-19T14:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=116066"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:49:26","slug":"oil-marketing-and-bulk-distribution-chambers-condemn-alleged-misuse-of-lpg-fund-demand-immediate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=116066","title":{"rendered":"Oil marketing and bulk distribution chambers condemn alleged misuse of LPG fund, demand immediate action"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 31 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) and the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) have condemned the alleged diversion of funds from the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Fund to the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC), describing the move as a \u201cflagrant breach of statutory mandate\u201d and a \u201cdangerous sabotage of national energy policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The LPG Fund, implemented by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on April 1, 2024, under Legislative Instruments LI 2262 (amended) and LI 2481, was established with three legally binding objectives:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>USD 44\/MT Bottling Plant Margin<\/strong> \u2013 To finance the construction and operation of LPG bottling plants nationwide.<\/li>\n<li><strong>USD 36\/MT Cylinder Investment Margin<\/strong> \u2013 To fund the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) for safe and efficient LPG distribution.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The press release emphasised that the fund\u2019s purposes are non-negotiable and were never intended as discretionary capital for ad hoc allocations. <\/p>\n<p>Redirecting resources to GCMC, according to COMAC and CBOD, represents not administrative flexibility but a direct breach of law that undermines the LPG safety and infrastructure framework.<\/p>\n<p>The chambers argued that diverting the fund away from bottling plant development, CRM rollout, and the withdrawal of unsafe cylinders endangers lives. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernment is actively choosing GCMC\u2019s financial convenience over the holistic mission to increase LPG accessibility, remove lethal cylinders from circulation, and ensure safe replacement,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PRESS-RELEASE-1.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of PRESS RELEASE (1).\"><\/object>PRESS RELEASE (1)Download<\/div>\n<p>Beyond the immediate energy sector, the alleged diversion carries wider economic consequences:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Destruction of private investment<\/strong> \u2013 Operators who invested billions based on statutory assurances face potential collapse.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Job losses<\/strong> \u2013 Thousands of livelihoods along the LPG value chain are threatened.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consumer exploitation<\/strong> \u2013 Households may bear the burden through higher prices, reduced supply, and continued safety risks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Investor flight<\/strong> \u2013 Both domestic and foreign investors may withdraw from a jurisdiction where statutory guarantees are not respected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The chambers warned that \u201cevery diverted cedi erodes competitiveness, freezes critical investment, and transfers wealth from productive enterprise to governmental discretion,\u201d undermining public confidence in state institutions.<\/p>\n<p>COMAC and CBOD outlined clear, non-negotiable corrective measures:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cease all disbursements<\/strong> to GCMC from the LPG Fund immediately.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reverse any allocations<\/strong> already made and restore funds to their lawful purpose.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reaffirm statutory mandate<\/strong> \u2013 Ensure the fund finances only bottling plants, CRM rollout, and unsafe cylinder withdrawal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Guarantee transparency<\/strong> \u2013 Implement quarterly public reporting on all fund utilisation with independent audit verification.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u201cThese are not industry requests. These are legal and moral imperatives,\u201d the statement stressed.<\/p>\n<p>The chambers a pointed message to authorities: the government must now decide whether to uphold the rule of law, protect its citizens, and maintain energy sector credibility, or to condone misallocation and bureaucratic convenience at the expense of safety and public trust.<\/p>\n<p>COMAC and CBOD pledged to pursue all legitimate avenues\u2014policy, legal, and public\u2014to defend the LPG Fund\u2019s rightful utilisation. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will not permit this fund to become a discretionary slush account. We will not remain passive while statutory protections are shredded. We will not accept anything less than full accountability, decisive leadership, and restoration of fund integrity,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"116066\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                        \n                      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policy.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5316,146,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-comac","category-lpg","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}