Public decry hikes in prices of petroleum products
Some residents in Accra have described the recent 25 per cent fuel price increases as too astronomical and a big drain on their finances.
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They said the increases, occasioned by the passage of the Energy Sector Levy, 2015, should not have been that high, especially when the world price of crude oil had reduced by about 36 per cent.
In separate interviews with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the residents said the timing of the increases was bad as many people had celebrated Christmas and parents were preparing to pay the school fees of their children.
Besides, they said, the prices of spare parts, food items and other essentials were likely go up as a result of the increased prices of fuel products.
They, therefore, appealed to the government to take immediate steps to reduce the fuel prices since the increases were unbearable.
New fuel prices
The cost of some petroleum products have gone up between 18 and 27 per cent effective yesterday, following the passage of the levy by Parliament.
The Act seeks to realign petroleum-related taxes by adjusting some of the levies and abolishing others. The rationalisation has cost implications on the ex-pump price of petroleum products.
The increment margin is one of the highest in recent times.
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The Daily Graphic team visited some fuel filling stations to ascertain the increase in the new prices.
Total filling stations were selling super (petrol) at GH¢3.499 per litre, instead of the previous GH¢2.699, while diesel was sold at GH¢3.326 per litre instead of GH¢2.649.
At GOIL filling stations, super was selling at GH¢3.465 per litre, up from GH¢2.699, while diesel was selling at GH¢3.28 per litre instead of GH¢2.649.
Shell was selling super at GH¢3.465 per litre, V-Power, GH¢3.990; and diesel, GHc3.281. The managers declined to give the previous prices.
Champion was selling super at GH¢3.450 per litre, instead of the previous GH¢2.685, and diesel GH¢3.270 from GH¢2.625.
Nana Agyaa, a driver, told the Daily Graphic that he bought GH¢80 worth of petrol yesterday morning from Twifo Praso in the Central Region on his way to Accra yesterday, which would previously have sent him back. However, he indicated, the fuel could not take him home, and had to take some money from friends to buy additional fuel.
“In fact, the increase is too much. We cannot bear it. The government has to do something about it. The prices should go down because we just cannot afford them,” he said dejectedly.
Mr Jibraeel Agyei, who was at the Total Filling Station at Adabraka to buy petrol, was shocked at the new increases, which he described as “painful.”
He said he had not heard about any increases in fuel prices, but the increase in the price of a gallon of petrol from GH¢14 to GH¢16 was too much.
Mr Agyei said fuel was an essential commodity that motorists could not do without, so they did not have any choice but to continue buying it.
A company worker, Mr Stephen K. Adu, told the Daily Graphic that the government was not being fair to motorists, because when it came to reducing fuel prices, the reduction was minimal. He added that the increase would ultimately lead to increases in the prices of commodities, which would worsen the plight of Ghanaians.
Mr Eric Gyampo, a self-employed man, said the increases were just too much and would affect the income of workers. He appealed to the government to reduce the prices of fuel.
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Mr Ebenezer Acheampong said the fuel price increases had come as a big surprise to him since it was just at the beginning of the year.
He said the astronomical increases in petroleum prices would also increase the financial burden on the public. He therefore asked the government to reduce the prices.