HEALTH, SAFETY OF PEOPLE NOT NEGOTIABLE (PAGE 38, MAY 1, 2010)

President John Evans Atta Mills has declared that the health and safety of Ghanaians are non-negotiable.
He therefore asked companies, particularly bulk importers and dealers in petroleum products, not to compromise on the health and safety of the people in their areas of operation.
Expressing concern about recent fire outbreaks in the country, President Mills attributed the spate of fire incidents to non-compliance with safety precautions by companies and business operators.
The President made the declaration in a speech read on his behalf on Wednesday at the inauguration of an oil storage facility owned by the Cyrus Oil Services in New Takoradi.
President Mills said although the oil storage facilities were important to the socio-economic development of the country, safety was equally important.
He advised companies to mount sustained programmes to educate the people in communities where they operated on what to do in case of emergency.
“I urge you to adhere to strict standards of health and safety applicable to highly inflammable products that would be handled by your facilities,” he stated.
The President said importers should not limit themselves to regular training of their staff and underscored the need for “continuous collaboration with the community to ensure a proper understanding of the risks associated with their operations and measures required to mitigate the consequences in case of emergency”.
He commended the Cyrus Oil Services for their bold initiative and foresight for establishing two of such facilities in Tema and Takoradi within a short time.
The President said what was more gratifying was that the company was fully owned and operated by Ghanaians.
The President also used the opportunity to challenge Ghanaians to establish a wholly Ghanaian-owned oil refinery in the country to complement the effort of Tema Oil Refinery.
Expressing such optimism, the President said: “We look forward eagerly to the day when a wholly Ghanaian-owned private refinery will be established to produce to feed the demands of the country and to export the surplus.”
“I would like to assure the investor community, both local and international, that the government is committed to establishing an environment that would enable business to flourish in the country,” he added.
The Managing Director of Cyrus Oil Services, Mr Nkum Adipa, said the underlying factor for the establishment of the facility was informed by the problems of transporting petroleum products from Tema to the rest of the country and the associated cost and risks.
He said many lives and assets had painfully been lost in the quest of the transporters to get the products to the final consumers.
Mr Adipa assured the government of the commitment of the company to be a good corporate citizen.