The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said no amount of explanation can justify the 9% increment of petroleum prices.
In a statement, the Secretary General of the TUC, Kofi Asamoah said he was convinced that the rising crude prices and the depreciation of the cedi alone cannot warrant the recent petroleum price increase as announced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
[contextly_sidebar id=”xmJtDbaqYKiVVqNItRlMh9PX8nBfs1V3″]“We believe that the overriding factor that has led to the increase has to do with the pressure the Bulk Oil Distributing Companies (BDCs) are putting on NPA.”
Government after months of heavy public backlash reduced fuel prices by 10% in January 2015.
But on Sunday, the NPA announced a 9% increment in petroleum prices citing the depreciation of the Ghana cedi and the rise in crude oil prices on the world market.
The NPA also explained that the increment was done to avert an imminent fuel shortage.
However, the TUC believes the increment has not only neutralized the positive effects of the 10% reduction the government made in January, but it has “actually worsened the already harsh economic conditions Ghanaians are forced to cope with especially at this time when businesses are laying off thousands of workers because of erratic power supply and a steady rise in cost of doing business in Ghana as well as the rising cost of living.”
The TUC questioned why the NPA resorted to the use of the Automatic Adjustment Formula in determining the new prices but failed to do same in determining fuel prices when crude oil prices on the international market fell drastically.
According to Kofi Asamoah, the TUC finds it “extremely appalling that in this period of a crippling energy crisis and its attendant debilitating effects on the economy and on the economic and social conditions of the good people of Ghana, the NPA has found it convenient to increase prices of petroleum products in the interest of the so-called BDCs at the expense of the entire population of Ghana.”
He therefore demanded that the NPA must reverse the increment and rather organize a stakeholder consultation on fuel pricing.
He also challenged the Authority to “publish the names of all the BDCs, the names of their owners and how much each of the BDCs is receiving from the supply of crude oil” because “Ghanaians deserve to know all about these BDCs who are cheating us and holding all of us to ransom.”
The TUC’s Secretary General stressed that no public institution should be allowed to overburden Ghanaians with price increases and a higher cost of living especially at the time when life in Ghana has already been made so difficult due to policy failures.
“We, therefore, expect Government to intervene, as a matter of urgency, to avert any backlash.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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