COPEC: Government to blame for rise of fuel prices on local market
Fuel prices have seen a consistent rise on the world market but the executive secretary of COPEC says the government is to be blamed
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) has said the persistent hikes of petroleum prices at the local pumps is due to the unresponsive nature of the government.
According to Duncan Amoah, the executive secretary of COPEC, the Energy and Finance Ministers have remained adamant even when oil prices on the international market were dropping.
“We started talking about the rising of fuel sometime in March this year. We had indicated the need to relax some of the taxes in the sector in order that we do not push the cost of living beyond the reach of the average Ghanaian. Sadly, nothing has been done,” he lamented.
Currently, prices of petroleum products have gone up with petrol prices hitting GHC6.90 per litre at some Oil Marketing Company (OMC) outlets.
Prices of LPG have also gone up significantly. For now, you will need about GHC124 to fill one 14.5kg LPG cylinder.
Listen to the audio below:
Praises for Akufo-Addo
Speaking on Energy 101 Monday (8 November), Amoah also praised President Akufo-Addo for ordering the removal of the price stabilisation and recovery levy from the petroleum price build-up but stated that he expects more to be done to help cushion the ordinary Ghanaian.
“Something could have been done but we were probably pretending all along that nothing was happening. Now the fuel price is something every Ghanaian is concerned about. I’m sure that given the right sort of advice, the president may even do a little more than we saw last week. What we are seeing currently is a surge in prices at the world market and that’s not in isolation,” he stated.
Nicholas Brown
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