Kwesi Pratt lambasts government over failure to scrap Special Petroleum Tax

Seasoned journalist Kwesi Pratt has lambasted the government and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for failing to scrap the Special Petroleum Tax as earlier promised Ghanaians.

According to him, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) promised Ghanaians there would be a drastic reduction of fuel prices when given the nod to govern the nation.

He therefore wondered why the government is now suggesting a review in the prices.

Mr. Pratt, speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', also believed the new adjustments by the government, which is to see a reduction in the Special Petroleum Tax from 15 percent to 13 percent, as "voodoo arithmetic".

According to him, the calculations by the NPA do not support conclusions for the petroleum sector with regard to the prices on petroleum products.

Kwesi Pratt asked the government to explain reasons behind their inability to deliver on their promise to Ghanaians, particularly fuel consumers.

He believed it is pure deception on the part of government, adding that even the review is insignificant because the reduction on petrol is not even up to 2 percent.

“It’s dangerous . . . It’s only voodoo arithmetic that can give you such conclusion. If it’s not juju you’re using to do the arithmetic, you can’t come to the conclusions ... If this is how they’re doing calculations at the NPA, then we’re in trouble because simple methods of additions, subtraction and multiplication don’t even add up”, he stated.