Commerce Min. Tarpeh 

Thursday: January 30, 2020: In the wake of the recent difficulties experienced by the  public in getting gasoline from filling stations across Liberia, a Crisis  Committee has been set up to  handle the situation.

The Crisis Committee, amongst others things will   discuss, investigates what led to the gasoline crisis and take appropriate actions to avoid the recurrence of the matter.  

Close to two hundred thousand gallons of gasoline have already been pumped into the local market as a result of collaborative efforts by the Crisis Committee.

The Crisis Committee comprises the   Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Port Authority, Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) and importers across the country.

The pronouncement was made Wednesday, January 29, 2020, by Commerce and Industry Minister, Wilson K. Tarpeh, during a press conference at his office at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.

“We have been meeting here (Commerce Ministry) daily from 9:30 AM, we also today (January 29, 2020) and   will continue to meet to discuss the crisis until we can overcome the problem,” Minister Tarpeh said.

As part of efforts to address the recent challenges interplaying the Liberian gasoline industry, Minister Tarpeh also mentioned that several decisions were reached during the meetings.

He named one of the decisions as the provision services to smaller gas stations and small motor vehicles such as motorbikes, Three-wheelers,( “Kekeh”) and other related moving objects by Mayoubah.

The Commerce Minister said the essence of Mayoubah providing services to these smaller units is to help decongest,TOTAL, Aminata and SP Gas Stations, that are receiving their products from Petro Trade.

 He also mentioned that the Commerce Ministry received reports about the coming of other boats with additional quantity of supply and that his office was looking forward to seeing the difficulties associated with the supply minimized in the next few days.

Minister Tarpeh also disclosed that the National Port Authority has begun taking measures to ensure that larger vessels berth at the Port.

Expanding further he said   APM Terminals and the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) have created a way in which smaller boats will be used to offload bigger ones, while LPRC has re-fitted the Jetty that was built by World Bank, and initially meant to accommodate large Vessels.

The Liberian Commerce Minister told the news conference that the Ministry’s initial statement that there was sufficient quantity in Country was based on figures (inventory data) provided by importers.

Meanwhile, Minister Tarpeh is commending the public for the patience exercised in the wake of the recent crisis in the gas sector and further assured them of ongoing efforts to avoid the recurrence of the situation.

Signed: Jacob N.B. Parley

Communications Director

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Email:jacobtheancestor@yahoo.com/jparley@staff.moci.gov

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