The opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC has said it is appalled by the display of “gross insensitivity by President Akufo-Addo who has consistently flattered to deceive on his promise to reduce fuel prices” and has called on the government to immediately reduce fuel prices in the country to ameliorate the financial burden on Ghanaians.
According to the NDC, fuel prices under the Akufo-Addo government is still high because the government of the day “has deliberately refused to pass on the significant reduction in the price of crude oil on the global market to petroleum consumers in Ghana” following the “declining prices of crude oil on the international market” due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
In a statement released and signed by its National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi on Monday, 9 March 2020, the NDC stated that it had “taken notice of the continuous reduction of the price of Brent crude on the international market in the last two months. Specifically, we have noted how the price of Brent crude has declined by over 45 per cent, from an average price of USD63.60 per barrel in January 2020 to USD36 per barrel currently.”
According to the NDC: “The declining prices of crude oil on the international market, coupled with the artificial stability the Ghana cedi appears to be chalking, which is largely due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the injection of the recent USD3 billion Eurobond into the economy, should have led to a significant drop in the pump prices of fuel by now.”
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It noted, however, that government “has deliberately refused to pass on the significant reduction in the prices of crude oil on the global market to petroleum consumers in Ghana” and indicated that “within the period that crude oil prices have experienced a significant decline on the international market, consumers have only been given an insignificant and paltry reduction of 28 pesewas at the pump, from GHS 5.62 in January 2020 to the current average price of GHS 5.38.”
It described this as “callous and insulting to the sensibilities of Ghanaians who are going through excruciating hardships as a result of persistent increases in the pump prices of fuel, cumulatively by over 50 percent in three years, especially given the fact that President Akufo-Addo whilst in opposition criticised the erstwhile Mahama regime for exorbitant fuel prices and promised to reduce same if elected.”
The NDC are therefore asking the Akufo-Addo led government to reduce the pump prices of fuel by a minimum of 20%.
The call by the NDC comes after oil prices saw its lowest drop since 1991 on Monday. This is after Saudi Arabia started a price war with Russia by slashing its selling prices.
Saudi Arabia also pledged to release its pent-up supply onto the market which is currently facing falling demand because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Prior to this huge slash, crude prices had been relatively stable. Observers have said prices are generally expected to go down significantly at the pumps, to ease pressure on consumers.
Brent crude futures fell by as much as $14.25, or 31.5%, to $31.02 a barrel. That was the biggest percentage drop since Jan. 17, 1991, at the start of the first Gulf War and the lowest since February 12, 2016. It was trading at $35.75 at 0114 GMT.
