The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has called on the government to reduce the current fuel prices by 25 percent or give proportionate increase in student loans, national Service allowances as well as salaries and wages to cushion both students and workers.
"In view of the unbearable hardships as a result of the fuel price increases, the students of Ghana are left with no other viable options than to call for a 25 percent decrease in the current fuel prices.
If this is done, we also expect a 50 percent appreciation of student’s loans, national service allowances and salaries and wages, Mr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, President of NUGS, told a press conference in Accra.
"Be that it may, if the fuel prices cannot be reduced by our proposed 25 percent, then we demand a proportionate increase in students loans, national service allowances and salaries and wages." Mr Boamah said as much as the union agreed that fuel price increases were inevitable, "we wish to state that the almost 100 percent increase visited our bodies with goose pimples."
He said increase in fuel prices in future could be minimised "if taxes on petroleum are reduced, the exchange rate is stabilised through effective macroeconomics policies, there is effective management at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and there is judicious use of fuel by government officials."
He appealed to those who have been smuggling fuel to desist from the unpatriotic act and called for stringent measures from the Ministry of the Interior to curb the "unfortunate situation."
On Government's alleged consultation with the students' leadership that culminated in the increase, Mr Boamah said, "we were not consulted to deliberate on any issue concerning fuel price increase as being peddled by the government."
