Residents in the Upper East Region are asking government to consider removing the taxes on petroleum products. They said the removal of the taxes will cause the stabilization or fall of fuel prices at the pumps. Some drivers and users of public transportation said due to the increased prices at the pumps, life has become extremely unbearable. The residents spoke to A1 Radio’s Samuel Adagom in Bolgatanga.
One of the drivers who spoke to A1 Radio indicated his readiness to park his vehicle and look for an alternative means of generating income to feed his family. “When you load and you buy the fuel, what is left is only small and so we run losses. We are suffering,” he stressed. Another driver lamented that providing for his family has become a headache. “We cannot even take care of our families, we cannot pay school fees. They will be sitting in the house saying my daddy has gone to work but even what to eat is a problem. As for the price of the fuel, it is too much,” he cried.
“Now if you want to go to Walewale, you have to buy [fuel] 140ghc. If not for this price you cannot go and come. It is not easy for us. We hope they reduce the price of the litre for us,” another driver pleaded.
One user of public transportation said due to the price hikes at the fuel pumps, owners of public vehicles have no choice but to pass the costs to the end-users. “When the prices of fuel increase, everything else increases. So when you are traveling, you have to budget more, meanwhile, our salaries have not been increased,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) Ghana has predicted that fuel prices at the pumps may hit 7.3 Ghana-Cedis before the end of the year. A Research and Monitoring Officer at COPEC Sampson Addae said fuel prices will continue to rise if government refuses to pay attention to viable alternatives as presented by COPEC and other energy experts.
He made these comments when he spoke to the Host of A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, Samuel Mbura. “If government does not heed to our advice and the alternatives that we have given it, then, we should expect two increments before Christmas. [Fuel prices may hit] between 7-7.3 Ghana-cedis before the end of the year,” he said.
Mr. Addae said it is rather unfortunate that government and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) continue to blame the increase in prices of fuel at the pumps on global prices. He said government should consider removing some taxes on petroleum products to help stabilize prices explaining that “if you look at the price build-up, 40-45 percent is made up of taxes which were introduced by this government and if government is sensitive to the plight of Ghanaians, it has to review some of the taxes down”.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
