The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have rejected claims that they are shortchanging Ghanaians in the review of prices of petroleum products in Ghana.
Though oil prices have been hinted to be reduced by 25%, Citi News check revealed that various OMCs have only sanctioned close to 15% reduction in price of petrol.
[contextly_sidebar id=”qJbjus4sbtwsjuCrfRnYlBCeuWd1KmWC”]The reduction follows the performance of the Ghanaian currency against the dollar and other major foreign currencies.
Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the sector have criticized the new prices saying it should have been more than the 15 percent.
But the Coordinator of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Kweku Agyemang-Duah argues that the deregulation regime gives the OMCs the autonomy to operate a liberalized market hence the varied prices of fuel in the Ghanaian market.
“And that’s the duty of price competition; they do whatever they want to do. My duty is to make sure that my people comply with the prescribed formula by the NPA so that nobody will do anything untoward in terms of pricing of the products.”
Speaking in an interview on Eyewitness News, Agyemang-Duah defended the reduction insisting that the OMCs “are not colluding” to fleece Ghanaians adding that if it is happening then “I don’t know anything about it.”
He further noted that prices of petroleum products will further be reviewed within the next two weeks.
“Prices are going to remain at current levels for two weeks and we will review it depending on what happens within the next two weeks.”
The OMCs since June 16 have increased the prices of various petroleum products by close to 20% as the National Petroleum Authority took the first step towards the implementation of the full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana