Looming disaster At Buipe

Excessive fear and panic has gripped most residents of Buipe in the Northern Region as close to three hundred fully loaded petroleum tankers are stranded at the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) depot under the hot weather condition of between 42 and 46 degree Celsius. 

 

At the moment, Buipe town is sitting on a time-bomb as a result of the hazardous way the tankers carrying highly inflammable products are allowed to pack along the main streets and within the community.

 

This follows the disagreement between the Management of BOST and some Tanker drivers over which acceptable measuring tool should be used in discharging or offloading the fuel.

 

Buipe is noted for its indiscriminate burning of bushes, burning of charcoal and worst of all the non-existence of Fire Station in the whole of the Central Gonja District.

 

While the drivers are demanding the use of a “T-Bar” to measure the fuel, the management of BOST also insists on using a “flow meter” to ensure transparency.

 

However, the tanker drivers, who accused the BOST Management of always tempering with the flow meters to satisfy their selfish interest, alleged that they (drivers) always run at a loss anytime the flow meter was used to measure their fuel at the Buipe Depot. 

 

According to the Spokesperson for the frustrated Tanker Driver, Nana Boakye Dwumfuor, the drivers are always blamed for the losses and compelled by their employers or owners to bear the cost.

 

The Fuel Tanker Drivers have since the last three weeks been stranded at the BOST depot together with their mates. Majority of the drivers and their mates expressed disappointment at the management of BOST for taking what they termed as “unreasonable” stance to deprive the entire Northern Ghana of access to fuel.

 

The raging confusion between the drivers and BOST management at Buipe has so far sparked up some fuel shortages across the region. 

 

The angry drivers who found it very difficult to get a good parking spaces and had rather parked at some mosques and churches premises as well as individual homes, told Savannahnews that they could not guarantee the safety of the people in Buipe, since the weather continues to be at the boiling point.

 

Chanting “no T-bar no discharging of fuel” the tanker drivers said the uncompromising position of the BOST management had forced them to sleep in their vehicles for two to three weeks in order not to be taken surprise by any fire outbreak.

 

They however complained bitterly about the inability of BOST and the Central Gonja District Assembly to build a befitting parking space for the tankers.

 

Savannahnews discovered that the perilous way of parking the tankers had compelled school children to share the street with vehicles.

 

Around the Buipe Market, this blogger in the course of accessing the situation spotted some fire burning to the direction of the tankers and alerted the drivers who quickly battled it out. The paper also discovered that most of the tankers were packed under high tension polls with others close to chop bars and individual homes. 

 

The Assemblyman for Buipe Electoral Area, Abubakari Yussif in an interview with Savannahnews appealed to the authorities and BOST management to consider the dangers the tankers pose to the lives and properties in Buipe and settle the issue amicably.

 

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Central Gonja, Sualisu Be-Awuribe described the situation as a security threat and urged the parties to address the issue immediately. 

 

He also unveiled plans by the Assembly to construct a commercially viable modern state of the art cargo port in Buipe.