Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed that the government has already set plans to secure affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market.
According to the minister, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Energy will provide further details about fuel importation in the coming days.
He noted that the Energy Ministry had already begun talks with some major sources and sovereigns in the supply of petroleum products.
“In President Kufuor’s time, we did it with Nigeria, Sahara lifting for us, and you could have supply credit lines and a fixed price that you could bank on, and it is a very similar arrangement that has already commenced, and I am expecting that in the coming weeks the NPA, the Energy Ministry will have the opportunity to provide the details,” he said on Joy news on October 31.
He added, “I am saying that the work has already started. I will want them to come and put out those details…I am not going to preempt what the people responsible for the sector are going to do. We are scheduling for all of them to come and provide their detailed presentations, and during those presentations, all of the questions can be put to them”.
Oppong Nkurumah’s comments come at the back of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s assurance that his government was working to address the escalating fuel prices in the country.
Addressing the nation on the state of the Ghanaian economy, the President indicated that the “government is working to secure reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market. It is expected that this arrangement, when successful, coupled with a stable currency, will halt the escalation of fuel prices and bring relief to us all”.
Currently, petrol and diesel prices are being sold at an average of ¢18 and ¢23 per litre, from the previous prices of ¢15 and ¢19 per litre respectively.
The situation has largely been attributed to the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.
However, President Akufo-Addo said the government was not oblivious to the hard times and the burden hikes in fuel prices have brought on the standard of living.
“I know that the increasing cost of living is the number one concern for all of us. It is driven by fast escalating fuel prices at the pumps, which is caused by high crude oil prices on the world market and our depreciated currency. I know that this is putting intolerable pressure on families and businesses. I know that people are being driven to make choices they should not have to make, and I know that it has led to the devaluation of the capital of traders and painfully accumulated savings”, the President said.
Meanwhile, industry players have warned of tougher times ahead as prices of petroleum products surge again.