Member of Parliament for the Gomoa West Constituency, Richard Gyan-Mensah has lamented the continuous hikes in fuel prices which he says have become a nightmare for Ghanaians, especially his constituents.

Diesel is selling for more than GH₵20 a liter whilst the price of petrol is hovering around GH₵18.

Making a statement in Parliament on Monday, the Gomoa West legislator called for immediate governmental action.

“The recent persistent hikes in the prices of petroleum products in Ghana are gradually becoming the most dreaded nightmare confronting Ghanaians. Mr. Speaker, petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, LPG, premix, etc., have become crucial components of our lives as Ghanaians.

“The Ghanaian economy virtually survives on petroleum products. A wide range of economic indicators, including the general prices of goods and services, such as food prices, transport fares, etc., are heavily driven by the prices of petroleum products”, he said.

The NDC MP said a contributory factor to the incessant increases is the taxes on petroleum products.

“A detailed assessment showed that government-controlled variables, such as taxes and levies on petroleum products and the weakening strength of the Ghana Cedi, are mainly responsible for the persistent fuel price hikes.”

Mr. Richard Gyan-Mensah compared the prices of petroleum products in Ghana to neighboring countries and argued forcefully on the floor that the hikes cannot be blamed on the war in Ukraine and other external factors.

“Mr. Speaker, I regret to inform the House that data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com and the National Petroleum Authority website as of the first pricing window in November 2022 show that Ghana has the highest petroleum prices amongst its neighbouring countries, including Ivory Coast, Togo, and Burkina Faso.”

The MP lamented the price increment on his own pocket, arguing that he used to fill 2.7 liter engine car for GH₵560 but currently, he does so for GH₵1,300 every weekend.

Mr. Gyan-Mensah called on the government to scrap some taxes on fuel prices to bring down the cost of fuel to below GH₵10.00.

“In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, Government may consider the following measures: Subsidise prices using revenue from the crude oil windfall profits. Suspend petroleum taxes and levies until the price per litre falls below GH₵10.00. Ensure BDCs have a stable supply of foreign currencies to import more fuel to meet growing national demand.

“Engage the BoG and Association of Bankers on the Single Obligor Limit as trading lines issued to BDCs have reduced drastically because of the depreciating cedi. Engage and support the BDCs to enable them to import cheaper petroleum products with 50 ppm quality to lower the ex-refinery prices,” he said.