According to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), fuel prices would probably decrease by Monday, November 14, 2022.
Recently, the cost of fuel, particularly diesel and gasoline, has increased. While gasoline is now costing around GH18, diesel is currently retailing for more than GH23.
The Executive Secretary of the Chamber, Duncan Amoah, however, hinted that steps are being put in place to help subsidize the growing prices in an interview with Roselyn Felli on Prime Morning on Wednesday.
“We anticipate that the price of diesel will decrease from GH23 to somewhere around GH21.19 and that the price of gasoline would decrease from GH17.99 to somewhere around GH17.10 or GH17.00.
On the basis of the FX figures we have chosen during the past week, he stated, “diesel might go down by GH2.00 a litre and petrol could fall close to a cedi per litre.”
According to Mr. Amoah, the increase is the result of the tax on gasoline rising by about 422% in a single year.
He pointed out that the price hike shouldn’t be attributed to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), but rather to poor government management.
He urges the government to keep the increase in petroleum taxes as low as possible because it could result in job losses in the industry.
Mohammed Abdul-Kudus, the NPA’s public relations officer, is of the opinion that the devaluation of the cedi, not taxes, should be held responsible for the price increase.
He claims that when some companies’ pricing differ from others, deregulation of fuel prices skews the Authority’s and Oil Marketing Companies’ (OMCs) ability to communicate.
“The instability of our currency hasn’t helped us much either, and that’s another factor. We are all familiar with the dynamics of forex management in the francophone nations, which often ensures a certain level of currency stability for them.
Mr. Abdul-Kudus thinks that even if the government subsidized the cost of goods, prices would not alter.