NPA, Think Tank, clash over fuel prices

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana have clashed over reported fuel prices increases.

In a statement it issued Monday, October 17, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana said that prices had gone up between 8-11 percent effective October 16, 2016.

However, the NPA in a sharp rebuttal described the statement as misleading.

The NPA has, therefore, urged the general public to treat the reports with the contempt that they deserved.

But Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of the Chamber, insists the increases have started taking effect.

He mentioned three big Oil Marketing Companies which, he said, have all passed on the increases to consumers as at yesterday.

“Diesel prices have seen an increase of between 8-11% on current ex pump prices while petrol prices have seen between 3-5% across most BDCs and OMCs though the figures are yet to reflect directly at the various pumps,” a statement from the Chamber said.

“The current increases are largely attributed to the sharp increases on the world market prices as the cedi has been relatively stable over the past two weeks”, he stated.

However, the NPA in a statement yesterday labeled the statement from the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana as nothing but false, urging “consumers and the media to check on the price boards of retail stations to determine the true prices of fuel on the market and not rely on data from any group of persons who purport to project fuel prices, which always turn out to be poor and inaccurate.

“When in doubt, consumers and the media should check with NPA’s website or the bi-weekly publications of retail prices of OMCs published in newspapers and the Gazette by the Assembly Press for accurate information on the retails of fuel by OMCs,” it said