Revert to periodic petrol adjustments – GNCCI
The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has called on the government to revert to the use of the periodic price adjustment mechanism to lessen the burden of higher increases on the private sector.
A statement issued by the Chamber, which is the umbrella organisation of trade and industry, signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sal Doe Amegavie, stated that the reversion to the periodic price increases will avert sudden price hikes that usually throws out the planning of the private sector, especially in a very competitive business environment.
“The chamber wishes to advise that the government reverts to the use of the periodic price adjustments mechanism based on the NationaI Petroleum Authority pricing formula, so that private business does not have to suffer sudden price hikes which make it more uncompetitive in already difficult domestic and international markets”, the trade and industry apex body stated.
The chamber also called on the authorities to ensure that fuel price increases reflect the actual market situation in order not to force the government to resort to heavy borrowing from the banking sector.
That, it said, also affects the availability of funds for the private sector and consequently raises inflationary pressures, as well as increase interest rates as has been the case in the past.
The chamber said it acknowledged that by charging the right price for petroleum products, industry and business would have readily available petroleum products and will also ensure sanity and discipline in the national consumption of petroleum products.
“The chamber’s analysis of the cost buildup shows that the government is indeed subsidising some of the products used predominantly by the lower income segments of the Ghanaian society and industry, that is Kerosene, gas oil, liquefied petroleum gas among others,” the chamber said.
That, however, the chamber said had mitigated the impact of the petroleum prices on the vulnerable in society and key industries.
The chamber also called on the government to stop playing politics with the pricing of petroleum products, as a result of political interference in the pricing policy over the years, which has led to the carrying of the Tema Oil refinery debt incurred over a long period, the result of which is a huge increase of 30 per cent in petroleum prices this year.
Source: Daily Graphic