Fuel Price Hike: AFAG Gives Gov't 10 Day Ultimatum

Political pressure group, the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) is beating the war drums by sounding a note of caution to government to immediately withdraw the recent 30 per cent price hikes on petroleum products announced this week within a ten day (10) time frame or risk incurring their wrath.

AFAG contends there is no justification whatsoever for the fuel price increases, pointing out that if allowed to stay it will just worsen the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

A press statement issued today by the group said, per this unwarranted increase businesses are likely to transfer cost to consumers in order to stay afloat.

“This is not a mark of a caring Government...The caring Government that we are made to believe is not only taxing the private sector to death but also diminishing the economic prospects of Ghanaians day by day,” AFAG said.

Below is the full statement issued by the AFAG

AFAG Registers Its Strongest Opposition To The Fuel Hikes As We Give Gov’t Ten (10) Days Ultimatum

The Alliance for Accountable Governance, not long ago, through our Economic surveys coupled with the Economic Policy and Budget Estimates for the 2011, had predicted sharper and harder times ahead. We were particularly not surprise about the increase, looking at the 300% increase in the TOR debt recovery levy and the international crude oil price increases as we posited in our 14th December 2010 Press Statement on the Budget.

We were again not astonished in the reneging of the social contract the NDC made with Ghanaians in their Better Ghana Manifesto upon which Ghanaians gave them the mandate to govern.

Specific in this regard is that, the NDC promised among other things “to introduce measures to provide tax relief for Ghanaians through various tariffs and tax measures’’ and to “reduce the prices of petroleum products drastically’’.

AFAG’s worry is the economic hardships this unwarranted increase is to cause Ghanaian consumers and businesses. We are convinced that, businesses are likely to transfer cost to consumers in order to stay afloat. This is not a mark of a caring Government.

AFAG was in a state of ambivalence when the President upon the Standard Bank of China courtesy call on him said that 2011 is an “action year’’. The foundation upon which the President said that remains unclear, but with the increase in the prices of petroleum product as an action year greetings, we are aware of predicaments ahead.

As we speak now, the President of the AGI, Nana Owusu Afari is reported as saying that; Industries will be forced to lay workers off because of this petroleum price hikes. This is certainly an ‘action year’ indeed. The caring Government that we are made to believe is not only taxing the private sector to death but also diminishing the economic prospects of Ghanaians day by day.

Ghanaians and particularly AFAG will not accept the current petroleum hikes. If allowed to stay it will just worsen the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

We therefore urge the President Mills led NDC government to as a matter of urgency and for the social and economic health of the nation, to withdraw the new debt recovery levy within a ten day (10) time frame or incur the wrath of AFAG and Ghanaians. AFAG would take all the necessary actions possible to correct this anomaly.