The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), wants government’s intervention to reduce the impact of fuel price hikes on its members.
The Union has however said it does not plan to increase transport fares.
[contextly_sidebar id=”yKcSgXX4tBXBWmiLNuqJpqJFFDiNZDAQ”]The Union cannot increase fares in line with an agreement with the Ministry of Road and Transport.
Checks by Citi News at some fuel pumps on Monday showed that prices had increased to GHc5.18 pesewas and GHc5.14 per litre for diesel and petrol respectively.
This was in line with projections by the Institute for Energy Security (IES). The IES attributed this largely to the depreciation of the cedi.
Speaking to Citi News, the Chairman of GPRTU, Kwame Kumah, said “it is not good for us every day to wake up and hear that the fuel prices have gone up… every day getting up and hearing that fuel is going up; it won’t go well for us.”
He pleaded with government to “do something about it that will help us.”
In the meantime, Mr. Kumah said that the government “should stabilize the [fuel prices] for us.”
Increase to continue
The Executive Director of the IES, Paa Kwesi Anamoah Sakyi, has warned that fuel prices at the pump will continue to go up until the cedi stabilizes.
According to him, Bulk Oil Distributors who buy crude oil from the world market will have no option but to pass on the increasing cost of fuel to Ghanaians.
“When there is a change, or the dollar is stronger than the cedis, then it means that you need more cedis to source for your products. In the last two weeks or more, the dollar was just around 4.7, but it has moved to 4.95; a depreciation of 4 percent,” Mr. Sakyi said.
Politicians have failed to cushion consumers from fuel price hikes- Senyo Hosi
The CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi, has chided policymakers for not thinking outside the box when addressing the impact of oil prices on citizens.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View, he remarked that issues in the oil business are not tackled in isolation.
“So you should start asking, from a policy perspective, how do I deal with the impact that fluctuating petroleum prices can have on the daily lives of our people and that is where politicians have unfortunately just failed,” Mr. Hosi said.
Ghana has been seen to have “very myopic thinking in our policy space,” Mr. Hosi observed.
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By: citinewsroom.com/Ghana
