Sekondi-Takoradi residents react to fuel increment

Residents of Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region have expressed mixed reaction to new fuel prices announced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

Some residents in the twin-city told the GNA on Thursday that the increment had come at a time when most people had spent their monies during the Christmas and New Year festivities.


They said fuel increment affected every facet of their lives since there would be a rise in prices of food stuffs, transport fares as well as goods and services.


Maame Adwoa Takyiwa, a porridge seller, told the GNA that since the price of maize would go up because those who brought the commodity from Techiman and other places would increase the price as a result of increased transport fares, she would also have to increase the price of her porridge.


Some residents expressed their frustration over the frequent increment in fuel and transport fares and lambasted the government for not showing sympathy in view of harsh economic conditions in the country.

Although transport fares had not gone up in the metropolis, some drivers told the GNA that they were waiting for directives from their superiors in Accra.


John Quaicoe, a pharmacist, told the GNA that although the increment was in bad taste, the government cannot always absorb subsidies on petroleum products because that retarded national development and added that there should be resources to put up infrastructure across the country.


The NPA on Wednesday announced upward adjustment in the prices of petroleum products. Petrol went up 6.38 %, diesel went up 7. 08%, liquefied petroleum gas 8.73 % and kerosene went up by 19.80 %.


There was no change in the prize of pre-mix fuel