[ 2016-09-26 ]

Dirty diesel kills thousands of Ghanaians yearly – ACEP
Energy policy think tank, Africa Centre for Energy
Policy (ACEP) has told Citi Business News
thousands of Ghanaians lose their lives every
year because they inhale fumes from dirty diesel.

ACEP’s Deputy Executive Director, Benjamin
Boakye says ‘people are dying because we import
this dirty fuel. World Bank estimates that 17, 500
people die annually in Ghana because of air
pollution and dirty diesel contributes
significantly to this number’.

ACEP in partnership with Swiss NGO, Public Eye,
recently revealed that Swiss commodity trading
firms are exploiting lax regulatory standards to
sell dirty diesel to African consumers.

The report which surveyed eight African countries
including Ghana, indicated that the sulphur
content of diesel samples in such countries was
more than 300 times compared to that of Europe, US
and Kenya in Africa which has 50 parts per million
(ppm).

The report also cited the alarming health
implications from air pollution.

For instance, the International Council on Clean
Transportation (ICCT) estimates that by 2030,
Africa will have three times as many deaths from
traffic-related particle dust than Europe, Japan,
and the US combined.

But the National Petroleum Authority, which
regulates the industry has denied the allegation.

The authority’s CEO Moses Asaga told Citi
Business News “It is a blatant exaggeration to
say that millions of people are being affected by
that. We have sought permission from the EPA and
that the emission test of Ghanaian vehicles which
use diesel has so far been considered to be in the
acceptable range. I think that all the comments
are from a point of ignorance. I’d rather that
the agencies particularly ACEP consulted the
Authority to know the details on how the market
entails before coming out with the conclusion,”
Moses Asaga remarked in an interview with Citi
Business News.

Moses Asaga explains Ghana’s standard of 3000
ppm falls within the regional margin quoted by
countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

He however added, a significant reduction in the
sulphur content will cost Ghana about 300 million
dollars. “Our refinery in Ghana has been
producing 1000 parts per million; as such if we
want to decrease to 50 parts per million, that
will imply the whole refinery will have to be
re-configurated which may need a capital cost of
between 200 to 300 million dollars.”

But the Deputy Executive Director of ACEP Benjamin
Boakye in an interview with Citi Business News, at
the sidelines of the launch of the Africa Oil
Governance Summit in Accra today- Monday said the
situation must be resolved to prevent further
damage.

‘People are dying because we import this dirty
fuel. World Bank estimates that 17, 500 people die
annually in Ghana because of air pollution and
dirty diesel contributes significantly to this
number.

If you look at the growth in the fleet of cars in
Ghana, the numbers have increased significantly,
between 2005 and 2015 the numbers doubled, so it
tells you that pollution has also doubled and we
must check this’.

Source - citibsinessnews.com

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