Accra, Nov. 2, GNA - The Committee for Joint Action (CJA), a pressure group, on Monday criticised the government for the five per cent increase in fuel prices announced last weekend saying these "arbitrary increases are certainly going to exacerbate the serious economic hardships Ghanaians are going through".

A statement signed by Mr Edward Bawa, on behalf of the CJA, expressed the hope that the government would immediately reverse these current increases as they were" unjustifiable".

The CJA said these continuous increases had come about because the government and managers of the energy sector have failed "to think outside the box" to come out with more creative ways of managing the situation.

"We have time and again insisted that the practice of always passing the shortfall in government revenue onto Ghanaians whenever crude oil prices shoot up on the world market is not sustainable and will only serve to aggravate the suffering of the average Ghanaian."

The CJA asked government to explore other options like hedging and diplomatic initiatives to purchase oil under more favourable terms as well as cutting down on government expenditure on fuel.