Urban Growth, Fuel Service Station Disasters and Policy Compliance in Ghana

Abstract

Disasters associated with Fuel service stations (FSS) in Ghana have been debated  severally and attracted policy attention, yet their mitigation strategies seem too far  off and unimaginably  unrealistic. Knowing that such disasters can limit enjoyment  of citizenship rights, Ghana has developed safety standards geared towards  mitigating their effects. Framed around the compliance theory and drawing on  data from 150 residential owners located within 15.4m buffer zone and five state  institutions, this article examined the extent of compliance with safety policies  guiding FSS in Kumasi, Ghana. The results showed that compliance with safety  policies was sinking into its bare existential levels as none of the facilities selected  for the study passed all the 11 safety standards. The facilities also negatively affected  residents who never considered their place of abode as perilous and that they  live in zones of vulnerabilities. This situation it is argued, fundamentally affects
development trajectory of the contemporary African city. It obviously obscures the realities of interrelated processes shaping urban disaster management. Even  though the spring-up of FSS have catapulted economic growth, inherently they are  also hazard-ridden. We suggest that in the broad scheme of urban planning, FSS  safety policies must not be discussed in the margins.