(Photo by Hassan Ibrahim)
The government formed a committee comprised of members from the ministries of supply, planning, and petroleum to put guidelines and controls on the distribution of home gas (LPG) cylinders on ration cards, similar to the system of bread distribution on the cards, said Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy Wednesday.
A share of LPG will be allocated to every citizen on the card and LPG cards will be issued to those who have no ration cards, explained Hanafy pointing out that there will be variation in points for those who save in LPG consumption.
Last February, the cabinet’s Economic Committee approved the needed procedures for the commencement of operating the project and distributing the cylinders via smart cards.
Hanafy noted during a meeting with a number of ministry officials that the system will soon be applied in Port Said as an initial phase before generalising it in the rest of the governorates, which is to eliminate LPG shortage that occurs at the beginning of each winter and prevent the sale of the cylinders in the black market.
The Minister of Supply said that the cards are currently being filtered of those who have passed away during the past three months, and people who acquire more than their share as a result of social separation or moving between governorates, and emigrants. The databases of the Civil Status Authority of the Ministry of Interior, the Passports, Emigration and Nationality Administration, and the Ministry of Manpower will be used in revising and filtering the ration cards.
Egypt has witnessed a fuel crisis since the start of this year that led to a rise in the black market prices of LPG cylinders, which are used as fuel in Egyptian houses.
