“Mushrooming petrol stations are another time bomb for city dwellers”
Nakawa East MP Ronald Balimwezo has warned that city dwellers are sitting on another time bomb if the issue of the mushrooming petrol stations is not addressed.
Balimwezo said that God forbid, but if a bomb was placed in areas like Nakawa which he represents in Parliament, it could be more catastrophic due to the gallons of fuel that the several petrol stations keep in the ground.
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Balimwezo made these remarks while appearing on NBS Morning Breeze, Thursday.
“We have mushrooming petrol stations. In Nakawa, we have Mogas with over 4 million litres of fuel. If someone placed a bomb there, it would be a catastrophe,” Balimwezo said.
Balimwezo said that they have talked about this for long, and complained to the government has turned a deaf ear.
According to a Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development 2020 report, at least 1,047 licensed petroleum retail outlets operating in Uganda by August 2020.
The report also estimated that more than 2,000 other unlicensed fuel stations are operating in the country.
The report found out that a number of these outlets are operating in and around the capital Kampala.
Many of these stations are seen to be just within a stone throw away from each other, which causes a danger to nearby communities due to their inflammable products.
The National Physical Planning Board (NPPB) directed all district chief administrative officers (CAOs), city clerks, and all municipal town clerks to suspend approval of development applications for fuel stations until developers meet operational guidelines in November 2020.
This was however not implemented, as the government lifted the ban in early 2021.
Balimwezo said that they want the government to prioritize the lives of Ugandans, because the threats of these petrol stations outweigh their benefits.
“We have complained about this installation, but the government has done nothing, government needs to act,” Balimwezo said.
