Fuel hikes is the most dreaded nightmare confronting Ghanaians - MP laments

Member of Parliament for Gomoa West Constituency, Richard Gyan-Mensah, has described recent hikes in the prices of petroleum products in Ghana as gradually becoming the most dreaded nightmare confronting Ghanaians.

According to him, the increase in petroleum prices is unbearable, bringing untoward hardship to the citizenry.

He emphasized that he currently spends a whopping GHC 1,300.00 every weekend to fill up the same vehicle he used to pay GHC 560.00 for.

“ The recent persistent price hikes in petroleum products have become a great concern to the ordinary Ghanaian. Prices of petroleum products have increased over the years, with this year witnessing the most astronomical increase. At the beginning of the year, the government made the ordinary Ghanaian understand that the increasing prices of petroleum products were due to external factors like post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges and the Russia-Ukraine war. However, a detailed assessment showed that government-controlled variables, such as taxes and levies on petroleum products and the weakening strength of the Ghana Cedi, are mainly responsible for the persistent fuel price hikes.

“The increases in petroleum prices are unbearable, bringing untoward hardship to the citizenry. As an MP, it used to cost me GHC 560.00 to fuel my Toyota Fortuner (2.7-liter engine) while driving from Accra to my constituency, Gomoa West, a few months ago. Because of recent price increases in petroleum products, I now have to pay a whopping GHC 1,300.00 every weekend to fill up the same vehicle used to perform parliamentary duties in the constituency, excluding weekday fuel costs to Parliament. Imagine how much a parliamentarian representing the people of Nandom (830 km from Accra) will spend on fuel to visit the constituents on weekends. Moreover, the fare of VIP buses from Accra to Kumasi has risen from GHC 80.00 to GHC 120.00 in the last two weeks. A 90 km journey from Circle to Koforidua costs GHC 43.00, up from GHC 31.00 in October 2022,” the MP said on the floor of parliament last Friday.

He, therefore, called on the government to immediately put measures in place to curtail petroleum products' skyrocketing prices to ease the plight of ordinary citizens.

Some of the measures he proposes include the government subsidizing prices with revenue from crude oil windfall profits; suspending petroleum taxes and levies until the price per litre falls below GHC 10.00 and 6 and taking a second look at the cost of discharging petroleum products in Ghana, especially at the port and CBM charges which are the highest in the sub-region.

He also called on the government to compel the Metro Mass Transit and Bus Rapid Transit System (Ayalolo) to provide adequate and cheaper public buses to ease the transportation hardship on Ghanaians.

NYA/BOG