Illegal LPG vendors flood market, pose threat to safety

Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

Illegal liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vendors have invaded street corners and shopping centres across the country, posing safety threats in areas they are operating from.

A survey in Harare’s high-density suburbs of Warren Park, Kambuzuma, Mufakose, Budiriro, Kuwadzana, Dzivaresekwa and Highfield established that most of these vendors are using unlicenced 48kg cylinders which are not supported by proper equipment for the conduct of business.

Some vendors had no fire extinguishers, sheds to work under or calibrated scales, but were just using gas tanks that were not licenced by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) and the Environmental Management Agency, as is legally required.

The fire extinguishers and sheds are safety measures while the calibrated scales are needed to sell any product by mass, as gas is sold by the kilogramme.

LPG can be dangerous if not handled properly and some potential dangers associated with it are fires and explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning, burns and asphyxiation.

ZERA recently warned the public against using some 48kg cylinders that are being brought into the country illegally and others, whose brand identifications have been tampered with.

In a public notice, ZERA also warned LPG wholesalers, who fill cylinders that do not belong to them, saying they would be penalised.

“The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority wishes to advise the public that there are some 48kg cylinders that are being used unsafely and illegally for the distribution of LPG in the country. This includes 48kg cylinders smuggled from neighbouring countries and others whose brand identifications have been tampered with.

“Such cylinders are unsafe as no one in the country bears responsibility for their maintenance and safety. In terms of LPG regulations and for safety reasons, only brand owners of 48kg cylinders or their authorised agents, are entitled to fill and maintain them. It is a licence condition that LPG wholesalers own and refill their own branded 48kg cylinders or obtain permission from brand owners if they need to fill cylinders that do not belong to them,” said the authority.

ZERA would not hesitate to act against wholesalers violating this licence condition.

Some of the cylinders have no licenced owners in Zimbabwe and some were smuggled from South Africa and Botswana, and are circulating locally without the owners’ consent and support.

“Owners of the above cylinders are not licenced to operate in Zimbabwe and as such, these cylinders have no maintenance support in the country. For safety reasons, members of the public and LPG retailers are warned against using such cylinders because their owners cannot be held liable for accidents arising out of unauthorised use of these cylinders in the country,” reads the statement.

“Consumers are encouraged to approach licensed LPG wholesalers and retailers for good quality gas and safe cylinders. ZERA is working with fellow regulators to eliminate the menace of smuggled cylinders in the market and urges LPG retailers and consumers to report any LPG wholesaler they find filling or selling smuggled 48kg cylinders,” reads the statement.

ZERA chief executive officer Mr Edington Mazambani could not be reached for comment but Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mrs Gloria Magombo said the were going to dispatch a team to probe the issue.

“We will send a joint ZERA-Ministry team to investigate before we respond,” she said.