The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is taking steps to make liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) more affordable and accessible to consumers.

It plans to work with the Ministry of Finance to reduce taxes on LPG, which will encourage more women to use LPG for cooking.

Spearheaded by the NPA's Chief Executive, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the move aligns with the government's goal of increasing LPG usage to 50% by 2030.

Speaking at a regional town hall meeting on the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) in Tamale, Deputy Chief Executive of NPA, Linda Asante, said smoke from using charcoal and firewood, can lead to severe lung diseases, especially among women and children.

She called on the people to switch to LPG as it is a safer and more convenient cooking solution as it does not emit smoke and said the government introduced the Cylinder Recirculation Module (CRM) policy to make LPG more affordable, accessible, and available.

- Advertisement -"The NPA implemented a tender process for LPG importation, which has resulted in reduced costs for the product. This reduction will cater for any additional cost associated with the CRM value chain, such as filling cylinders and distributing them to exchange points", Linda Asante said.

The Head of Gas, Commercial Regulation of NPA, Mr. Obed Kraine Boachie, said four LPG cylinder bottling plants--three in Tema and one in Kumasi--have been established to fill cylinders for distribution to LPG marketers for onward distribution to cylinder exchange points.

"The CRM value chain would create more jobs, and LPG marketing companies would be the key drivers of the policy", Boachie said.