Mombasa County Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has warned operators of gas filling stations in residential areas and those who lack relevant licenses.
On Thursday, he inspected Mvita and Nyali Sub-Counties gas filling outlets to ascertain safety and compliance with County Urban regulations.
The inspection led to the closure of four outlets in Ganjoni, Tudor, Kongowea, and Links Road that operated without the necessary permits and contravened the law and safety codes.
The County boss is keen to avert a gas explosion akin to the Embakasi one that has so far claimed the lives of seven people and left over 200 nursing injuries.
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Gas filling stations have been urged to acquire licenses from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Single Business Permit and Fire Inspection Certificate before they start operations.
Governor Nassir stated that there is no gas exploration in the county.
However, the coastal city is the gateway to all imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and other petroleum products through its port.
“Gas is being dealt with by certain multi-national and national companies whose threshold allows them to import and transport gas locally,” he said.
However, he said it is prudent for the companies supplying gas to outlets to ensure they have all the requisite four permits.
“All these are going to be done in record time as long as people can be able to apply so that we don’t have incidents that have unfortunately been witnessed to happen in other parts.”
“The right way for people to do business is not by endangering the lives of citizens. We need to be extremely careful,” stated the Governor.
Additionally, he said measures are being taken to prevent harm and not to cripple businesses.
This comes a week after a lorry exploded at a gas filling station in Mradi village in Embakasi that left six people dead and 300 others nursing severe burn injuries.
