In the wake of continuous shortages of gasoline on the Liberian market Alternative National Congress (ANC), political leader Alexander B. Cummings is calling for the dismissal of the heads of the National Port Authority, the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and the Minister of Commerce.
Appearing on a local radio station Prime 105.5 FM on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, the ANC head blamed the current situation on “incompetence” in preventing and handling the prevailing nationwide shortage of gasoline that has now entered its second week.
“No serious government would elect to prioritize politics over the general well-being of its people, to the point of ignoring their pains and leaving them to trek long distances”, Cummings adds.
Liberians across the country have been finding it difficult to get gasoline from various filling stations since three weeks now.
In addition to the dismissal of the heads of the three entities, the ANC political leader also called on the government to reach out to Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast for help in the supply of gasoline using road-tankers until large vessels can begin to dock at the Free port of Monrovia.
According to Cummings, schools should be closed for a period of one week pending the arrival of gasoline in the country to ease the situation as it has become nearly impossible for students to get to school.
He also wants a full disclosure of the timeline for the completion of the dredging of the port and estimated time of arrival of emergency fuel supply and institute an essential-staff policy in the public sector to reduce the workforce and have employees work from home as applicable.
Who is responsible for gasoline shortages?
The Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) had early accused APM Terminal for the gas shortages on the market noting that the company has rescheduled several vessels, a claim the British company has since denied.
There are also been some conflicting statements from the LPRC and the National Port Authority (NPA) who on one occasion said the gas shortage was due to dredging of the port for bigger vessels to dock but some critics of the government say this is far from the reality.
The NPA said the Free Port of Monrovia has not been dredged since 2017 and cannot allow bigger vessels of 33 metric tonnes to dock.
The shortage of gasoline now entering its third week is causing serious havoc for Liberians. Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe confirmed on state radio, ELBC Wednesday morning that the government is using various sources including next-door neighbors, to bring in emergency gasoline into the country.
Meanwhile the government of Sierra Leone is reportedly rejecting to aid Liberia in the process, an insider has told Liberia Public Radio.
