General News of Monday, 18 May 2015

Source: peacefmonline.com

IMANI Boss cries over fuel price increment

Petrol will now be sold at GHc3.33 per litre while Diesel will be sold at GHc3.24 per litre. This reflects a 9% upsurge in the prices of fuel.

A kilogram of LPG is also expected to be sold at GHc2.88, MGO Local will go up GHc2.96. Unified petroleum is expected to go up by 4% while Kerosene will be up by 9%. However, premix fuel and RFO remain at the previous prices as they have not been increased.

However, the Founder and Chief Executive officer of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe has said timing of the fuel increment is wide of the mark.

“Not now at least when every economic leaf has been squeezed of all its nutrients,” he said.

Read below what Franklin said on Facebook

There cannot be a reasonable justification for a price hike in petroleum products. Not now at least when every economic leaf has been squeezed of all its nutrients.

I have seen that the Ghanaian currency, the cedi has deeply depreciated against the major currencies again and some say it has impacted the current price hike on petroleum products.

If as suggested, this 9% price hike is to offset further depreciation of the cedi against major currencies, the answer lies in better economic management, not wanton panicky measures.

I have also learnt of a 1 percentage point increase in the Bank of Ghana policy rate from 21% to 22% on May 13, a week after the government, through the Ministry of Trade, Bank of Ghana and all major civil society heads and banking professionals lamented over the high cost of credit in Ghana in a big conference.

I was invited to be a panellist, but I declined as I knew it would have been a total waste of my time. I was justified.