• Politics

The Member of Parliament for Pru East, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has accused the Minister of Finance of feet-dragging in implementing proposals to cushion Ghanaians against rising fuel prices. According to Dr. Donkor, there is no justification for the refusal of the government to protect consumers in the face of rising fuel prices. “I am aware that recommendations have been made to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry is reluctant to implement the directive of government, and that is absolutely unacceptable. The Ghanaian people are suffering from high prices yet, the externalities cannot be discounted, but there is a section that is within our control, so we cannot ride on the externalities to justify the current prices.” Prices at the pumps crossed the GHS 10 per litre mark on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Dr. Donkor is of the view that more can be done to salvage the suffering masses. He added his voice to the call for some petroleum taxes to be removed from the price build-up. “The Ghanaian state has the capacity of controlling the taxes and levies. This is not the first time we are having an increase in petroleum prices due to global trends. Anytime it rises beyond a certain amount, the Ghanaian state reduces the amount of taxes on the product so that some relief is given to some consumers. He said: “We have called on government several times [but to no avail]. We are producing oil, and we are gaining from the upstream, therefore, the tax, like the special petroleum tax” can be halted while those that can be reduced are drastically brought down.” He recommended that a second look be taken at the whole pricing regime so that the burden on consumers can be reduced. He said the National Petroleum Authority, NPA, should embark on a conservation campaign to educate consumers on how to efficiently use their petroleum products. “We must also take a second look at the entire pricing regime. Are there inefficiencies in the pricing regime? Can we improve on the efficiencies in the pricing and sectoral regime so that the gains of these efficiencies can be pushed to the consumers, especially in these difficult times? The NPA as the regulator should also embark on a conservation campaign. In these times, the public should be educated on methodologies of managing the use of petroleum products.”