<<Print>>

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) is wondering whether the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is assessing the effects of its policies on the people.

“As petroleum prices rise again with attendant effects on transportation and food costs leading ultimately to higher inflation and a rise in the cost of living for every Ghanaian,” the CPP stated that the situation was not acceptable to it or the people of Ghana.

In a statement issued in Accra, the CPP recalled that in the last year the people of Ghana had seen massive price hikes in electricity – a near 40 per cent increase; on water – a 20 per cent increase; and petrol – a 50 per cent increase.

According to the statement, the fuel sector had seen prices tumble dramatically. 

“In June, global oil price stood at $115/barrel. Today it stands at 50 per cent of that and expected to average at $55/barrel for the rest of the year, so what is the reason why  the nation is still seeing these intolerable increases other than what the CPP calls  a  ‘Mismanagement Tax’ on the people of Ghana?“A sign also of gross insensitivity to the people’s plight,” it added.

Many Ghanaians, the statement pointed out, also knew that far from services being improved or even being maintained, utility service performance had declined drastically with many days of no electricity and no water still the norm. 

It further stated that the Ghanaian consumer, instead of benefiting from a continuing fall in petrol prices on the world market, was rather experiencing a continuous escalation of petroleum prices. 

Ghana has now seemingly moved from “Full Cost Recovery” to “Full Cost Robbery,” it stated.

Cost recovery

It was the contention of the CPP that the government’s willingness to go beyond full cost recovery and place such a greater burden on an already impoverished population was testament of its failure to manage Ghana’s vast economic wealth to the benefit of its citizens. 

Perhaps as the CPP had warned, the statement said, “This is the IMF chickens coming home to roost and our right to self-determination has been lost to their dictates on our development policy decisions – a demand that we reduce the purchasing power of the people with an increase in ex-pump fuel prices and cost of public utilities and in addition reduce labour income so that we can pay their debts”.