Government, OMCs, BDCs to deliberate over fuel price increases – Oppong-Nkrumah

Fuel prices increase

Global crude prices soar

Total levies on fuel GH¢1.90

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has disclosed that government will meet stakeholders including oil marketing companies and bulk oil distributors on possible cuts in the price build-ups on petroleum products.

According to him, in spite of the fact that global crude prices keep soaring,

Read full articlegovernment cannot sit aloof without implementing any mitigation measures to cushion consumers.

Speaking in a CitiNews interview he said, “For the causes of the petroleum price hikes, there are two parts to it. First, we need to have an honest conversation about the causes of the petroleum price hikes globally, and then we need to also be honest with ourselves about what we can all do to contain the situation. Here I’m speaking to [my fellow] politicians. We all need to be honest with the impact of the global petroleum situation on the local market. Though it may have a huge effect, there is some truth we need to tell ourselves that it is not as though there is some wicked agenda in Ghana.”

“But also, even, while admitting the difficulties, the government cannot also throw its hands in the air and say it is because of a global situation. So what can government and other stakeholders do? Government has imposed levies on petroleum; levies which go into the entire fiscal framework, and every pesewa on petroleum go to add to total domestic revenue, which is not enough,” he added.

The information minister stated that government is working to reduce its expenditure, therefore, there should be some interventions also from the OMCs and BDCs.

“There is a legitimate question; can government cut any further on its revenues that are coming from petroleum? What about the margins that accrue to BDCs and OMCs? Can those margins be dealt with in any way? In terms of hard currency availability, to the importers, can anything be done about that? In terms of the sources of refined products…can there be some policy discussions on amending those sources so that the cumulative effect is that, impact on the Ghanaian pump price is mitigated? All the cuts are on the table. The president has given some instructions. As of now, I’m sure some discussions are ongoing. Government has indications on what it will prefer, and it is putting those indications on the table. But you need the partnership of the BDCs, OMCs, banks among others to achieve significant impact,” Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said.

He said government will infuse the current global situation into its deliberations to ensure that Ghana is not adversely affected.

“The total levies come up to one cedi ninety pesewas. If you took it down, the amount as a percentage of the price build-up maybe not be that significant. If the global situation keeps going the way it is going, it may not mean much at the pump prices. So you want to examine the full continuum of issues, so that when you finally crystallize…. then you can actually achieve more impact no matter what happens on the international scene,” the Minister added.
He concluded by saying, “I suspect that maybe the Finance [Minister] and Energy [Minister] may speak together on matters of fuel [this week],” he added.