Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that consumers of petroleum products should expect a further decrease in the prices of fuel at the pumps as a result of the implementation of government’s Gold for Oil Policy.
Already, the national average price for petrol and diesel currently stands at GH¢13.53 and GH¢13.69 respectively.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia made the revelation at the commissioning of the new head office of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited, BOST, in Accra.
“I am happy to note that the policy is the first of its kind in Ghana since independence to address the balance of payment crisis that we face.”
”In my humble opinion, it is the most important macro-economic policy intervention to deal with the exchange rate depreciation, fuel price, and food price issues that we have had. We have not only seen a decline in prices of fuel from GH¢23.00 per litre to around GH¢12, but we have also seen stability in the exchange rate.”
He also reiterated government’s efforts at addressing the dwindling foreign currency reserves and increasing living costs adding that the policy is the most important macroeconomic policy intervention to deal with exchange rate issues and fuel price problems.
“As a result of the policy, we have not only seen a decline in the price from ¢23 per liter to around ¢12 per liter.We have also seen stability in the exchange rate as we predicted. I say all thanks should go to the Ministry of Energy, to BOST, to NPA, the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the PMMC who rose up to the occasion when we faced those crises of rapidly depreciating currency along with rapidly increasing fuel, transportation, and food prices.”
The Gold for oil policy which was announced by the government to help reduce the pressure on the cedi and bring in cheaper fuel has so far seen about 100,000 metric tons of fuel being brought into the country under the policy.
