<<Print>>

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency and minority spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has asked government to roll out a number of measures to cushion the suffering masses.

He says taxes on petroleum is too high and it is about time government remove those taxes to alleviate the hardships Ghanaians are going through.

Though global prices for crude oil is sky rocketing on daily basis due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, government should find other alternative means to subsidize the price of crude brought into the country in order not for it to be pushed to final consumer.

Speaking On Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he added that managers of the economy are also not doing enough when it comes to the performance of the currency.

"The performance of the cedi has taken a nose dive and the managers of the economy seem not to care about it.

"Like what former president John Mahama did, government should engage other stakeholders for their varied inputs on how best government can salvage the crippling economy," he said.

Traders have expressed worry about how they are losing money daily due to the poor perfomance of the cedi. 

According to one of them, “From December 2021 to date, our capital has been depleted by about 16 percent. In December 2021, when the rate of the cedi to the dollar was GH¢6.4, a trader could use GH¢640,000 to buy US$100,000. Today, as the rate is about GH¢7.6 to a dollar, the same GH¢640,000 can buy only US$84,000, thereby making a loss of US$16,000 which is the 16 percent depletion,”

"If this should continue for the next year or two, then I can tell you that Ghanaians will contiunue to wallow in abject poverty," he added.

Watch Video Below



COPEC threatens to stage demonstration over fuel price hikes

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Ghana (COPEC), says it will embark on a demonstration, if nothing is done, about the current hike in fuel prices by the close of the week.

This comes on the back of predictions that petroleum prices at the pumps could increase from GH¢8.22 to GH¢10.00 per litre for diesel, and from GH¢8.22 to GH¢9.00 for petrol by Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

“We want to give the authorities an ultimatum. By the close of the week, if we don’t hear anything concerning the reduction of fuel prices to reduce the burden on consumers as France has done by giving subsidies to their people, we will by Friday hit the street to demonstrate.”