Hon Kennedy Ohene Adjapong, one of the most implacable enemies of the Committee for Joint Action, the organizers of the series of Wahala demonstrations that rocked Ghana last year over the arbitrary increases in fuel prices, has declared himself a convert to Wahala. He has sworn to join the Wahalians to demonstrate against any fuel prices (the prices has since been increased), and what remains to be seen as if he would carry though his threat, now that the fuel increases are official.

Mr Adjapong was speaking in a highly charged interview with a Tema based radio station yesterday. Mr Adjapong, who is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin North, took swipes at the NPP for being insensitive to the plight of the people of Ghana and at the Tema Oil Refinery for being inefficient.

The Chief executive officer of the refinery, Dr Sarpong, has suggested that Ken Adjapong is ignorant!

Speaking in an interview, Ken Adjapong minced no words when he stated that the government’s policies in as far as the pricing of fuel products was concerned, was leading to great disaffection among the people for the NPP.

Explaining his stance, he said that fuel prices at the ex-pump were dictated by factors such as the price of crude oil on the international market, and the duties and taxes on it. Going on, he said that even though the NPP government has done well generally speaking, it has failed when it came to matters of fuel pricing. He questioned the wisdom in imposing hardship on the people by raising taxes only to use it to build so-called markets.

“If the Finance Minister says he has got money and he is going to build a market for the people of Kumasi or Accra, I do not agree with him when the prices are still going up. The tax money should be used to cushion – instead of using it to do other development and still increase the price of fuel,” he said.

While acknowledging that on the world market the price of crude was escalating because of the troubles between Israel and Lebanon and Syria, he said that a close look should be taken at reforming the tax regime on fuel prices, especially the Social Impact Mitigating Levy.