The opposition party of Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on government to reduce fuel prices during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
At a press briefing, the communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi said that the call is important because in line with the social distancing protocols, commercial drivers have been asked to reduce the number of passengers they take and the reduction in turn has greatly reduced the incomes of transport owners who are still being asked to pay more for fuel.
“This is unacceptable, and prices must go down immediately,”
he said
Following an increase in fuel prices amidst the outbreak of the Covid-19, there were several calls by drivers unions in the country to the government to increase transport fare charges due to the ongoing pandemic, as a result government last week directed that effective Saturday 11th July 2020, transport fares should be increased by 15%.
This Mr. Gyamfi describes the situation as unfair because the pandemic has brought about financial challenges on drivers who have been asked to reduce the number of passengers.
According to him, it is only fair that the government reduces fuel prices in line with its directive, especially when there has been a significant decrease in fuel prices on the international market.
“We cannot end without asking the government to reduce fuel prices, in the face of the recent consistent increments at a time when crude prices have plummeted on the world market,”
he said
International Fuel prices decrease
Recent reports have also showed a decrease in oil prices globally due to the resurgence of COVID-19 picked up globally, especially in the world’s largest economy and consumer of crude oil (United States).
Background
The increase in the transportation prices follows an agreement between the government and transport operators in respect of the reduction of passengers in public transport in line with social distancing protocols.
The transport operators proposed an increment of 50 percent with the explanation that they were making losses.
But following a meeting with the government last week Tuesday, a 15 percent increment was approved.
The Deputy Minister of Transport explained in the radio interview that after considering both proposals, the government decided to approve the increment in transport fares by 15 percent.
