Consumers are likely to pay between 4 and 7 percent more for fuel in the next pricing window which takes effect from September 1, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPECGH) has predicted.
This is due to “current world market prices which continue to hover around $47 per barrel, up from previous levels of around $42 per barrel as of the beginning of the current pricing window,” Executive Secretary of COPEC-GH Duncan Amoah has told ClassFMonline.com on Wednesday August 31.
The situation is worsened by the Ghana Cedi which made losses in relation to other major currencies on the world interbank market.
“The cedi has over the past two weeks also recorded some losses to close trading at 3.98 per dollar from previous trading at the start of the current window at 3.89 per dollar,” he explained.
He stressed that figures from the various Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) point to an imminent upward adjustment in pump prices by between 4 and 7 percent across most BDCs as some of them who were charging 1.48 per litre before taxes have moved to 1.71 per litre, a situation that is likely to result in pump prices going up by same margins.
This second phase when rolled out has the tendency to cause a lot of distress and confusion, he warned, as it will now completely leave the consumer to pay whatever rates the various outlets across the regions decide to charge.
For him, this must not be encouraged as cost of products in places where prices will be higher will most likely affect cost of living at the same margins.
“The current uniform pricing policy serves the interests of a unified state as Ghana and will be dangerous if tampered with,” he warned.
He disclosed that transport operators have served notice that the fuel price increment will lead to charging of different transport fares at different parts of the country depending on how cheap or expensive pump prices for those areas are, and this will eventually lead to not only confusion but arbitrariness and eventual fleecing, he cautioned.
He called for the shelling of such moves as he believes it will not only violate the laws of the land but also lead to complete arbitrariness in the system.
Source: ClassFMonline
