Adnan Adams Mohammed
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, has called on the government and parliamentary leadership to put in place “an arrangement” which will ensure the control of transport prices in fair correspondence with the reduction of petroleum products at the pumps.
The call comes as many Ghanaians have raised concerns for transport operators, oil marketing companies and traders to drastically reduce their prices which were astronomically inflated due to the jump in foreign exchange rate some weeks ago and fuel prices.
Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, speaking on the Floor of Parliament as he rallied support for the transport report presented by the Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, noted with concern the failure of transport operators to reduce fares despite the “consistent reduction” in fuel prices at the pumps and the appreciation of the local currency against the dollar.
A statement issued by GUTA has appealed to members of the business community to make the “consuming public feel the impact of this positive trend,” as the Cedi appreciates. It urged government to continue with “more efforts to sustain the programme and bring relief to the business community.”
“We’ve often lamented about the skyrocketing price of petrol [and] diesel in this country and Speaker, I must commend the government that in recent times, we read and we see consistent reduction in the ex-pump price of these products. And it’s gratifying that the dollar is also struggling to contain the strength of the cedi. These are all good times,” Hon Annoh-Dompreh stressed.
“However, I am not too happy when the ex-pump price of these products is going down and yet transport operators don’t pay a heed to this consistent reduction in the price of such products,” he bemoaned.
“I think going forward, we must have an arrangement to deal with this concern,” he proposed.
“The Ghanaian people are speaking to this, it’s a big concern for all of us, and Minister, in your response, and in your commentary, members are eager to hear, what you’d say and what the solution would be like,” he took his seat.
Prices of petroleum products are expected to fall significantly beginning this Friday, December 16, 2022, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) has projected.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commercial Transport Union of Ghana Benjamin Nsiah, has also hinted that prices of transport fares are likely to go down by some 20 per cent effective Tuesday, 20 December, 2022. In a radio interview, he indicated that various unions are engaging to decide on the right percentage of reduction.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has indicated that it will continue to appeal to its members to reduce the prices of their goods, following the improvement in the value of the cedi.
According to the association, it is important for traders to transfer the recent gains in the local currency through a reduction in the prices of their goods during the yuletide.
GUTA’s call is coming at a time the local currency has strengthened in value against the major trading currencies.
GUTA members demonstrated in October this year, closing their shops after the cedi lost its value to the dollar by about 50%.
The cedi has however witnessed over 25% gain in value to the US dollar since the past one and half weeks.
Reacting to calls for traders to reduce their prices, President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng said although market forces determine the prices, it will be prudent to take a look at prices of goods charged exorbitantly now that the cedi has gained some stability.
“The market forces itself will determine the prices as people have rightly said. But what we are seeking to do is to show good faith to the consuming public that our intentions are clear that when the exchange rate comes down, we will respond positively to alleviate the plight of the consuming public especially when are going for Christmas.”
“It’s just an appeal”, he added.
Dr. Obeng stated that GUTA can only appeal to traders to reduce the prices, since Ghana runs a free market system.
