Stop the construction of filling stations at Communities 16 & 17

I write in my capacity as a law-abiding citizen of our dear country, a patriot, a concerned parent,resident and a friend of the environment.

Residents of Communities 16 &17 became aware of the construction of a filling station at Baatsona, off the Abattoir Road some time in February. The residents sent a petition on February 13, 2017 to the

National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the location was of great concern to the community. Just 10 metres away from the station is a community school for children. Imagine what would happen should there be a fire outbreak. Even before this issue could be resolved, construction of yet another filling station less than 80 metres away has commenced.

Residents have petitioned all the relevant bodies but none of them seems worried as I suspect some underhand deals. A petition was sent to NPA and after five months, a letter was received from the CEO of NPA informing residents that the authority had granted permission for the construction of this disaster, a move which doesn’t need rocket science to appreciate! Where are we going as a country? Should everything be about political connections?

Residents replied the CEO of NPA on August 8, 2017. Our response sought to highlight the obvious flaws in the information relied on by the CEO in arriving at his earlier conclusion to grant the permit. For instance, signatures of residents that accompanied the document of the first petition as evidence of signoff by residents at a community engagement meeting were fraudulent and procured in an illegal way. It is my strong conviction that the CEO of NPA was misled into signing a letter full of concocted lies and fraudulent claims.

These are some of the risks that the filling station poses if construction is allowed to go on:

a) There is a hotel under construction on the left side of the station site.

b) The station is about 10 metres from a school (nursery and primary). There is a single carriageway between the school and the construction site.

c) There are 11-33 kV transmission lines crossing the front of the station.

d) There is evidence of a shop complex, as well as residents on the right side of the construction (filling station)