Documents leaked to The Statesman from a source within the Headquarters of the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) tell of a very disturbing attempt to exploit the fuel price increases to play the ‘ethnic’ card.

One of the documents, entitled “what the fuel price increases will do to you,” and marked “issued by the National Democratic Congress” has deliberately but wickedly set the almost 100 per cent increase in the price of pre-mix fuel in the context of ethnic discrimination.

It reads at paragraph 14: “The fishing industry faces imminent collapse. Even with the price of pre-mix fuel at ?8,500 per gallon before the increases, fishermen were finding it hard to make ends meet. Now that the price has almost doubled to ?16,000 the Ahantas, the Fantes whose livelihood depend on coastal fishing appear doomed and the industry faces extinction.”

“The NPP has financed a small clique of its supporters to embark on marine fish importation. To succeed in their plan, they have to kill the local fishing industry. This is the reason for the almost 100 per cent increase in the price of pre-mix fuel.”

But, when the Publicity Secretary of the NDC, John Mahama, MP, was contacted last night, he expressed polite disgust. “As far as I know, most of what is in the two documents firmly represent our views,” but, turning to paragraph 14, the MP for Bole said, “this is lobbying the ethnic card. I don’t know why the fishing crisis would be described this way.”

He noted it couldn’t be an official document but he was going to contact the General Secretary, Dr Josiah Aryeh, and call the paper back.

Suggesting a source of the document allegedly leaked from the NDC Headquarters, Accra, John Mahama said, “it might be from one of the splinter group doing that.”

However, the sector Minister for Fisheries Ishmael Ashitey, has refuted claims that the local fishing industry is in crisis. “No, that is not the case. In fact, produce has constantly gone up in the last four years. Figures collected from the ministry shows that in 1999, the entire catch was 320,000 metric tonnes. This went up to 365,741 in 2000.

In 2001 stock went up to 379,794 and for the first eleven months of last year 403,013 metric tonnes.

According to the sector minister, demand for pre-mix fuel has indeed moved up from “80-truck loads to the regions to 92 trucks last week, after the price increase. If they don’t have money, then it means they haven’t money to buy more fuel and the fish industry would collapse. It is not true that the fuel prices are collapsing the local industry.”

Pressed further, he, however conceded that the increase in purchases could be due to the authorities’ work in stopping alleged siphoning of pre-mix fuel meant for the Western Region.

Ishmael Ashitey, said under this government, new canoes have been procured, lifting the fleet up by 7 ? per cent. He also added that through a concessionary credit facility from China, the government has been able to secure eleven vessels for the local industry.

Also, countering charges of killing the industry for the sake of favoured importers, he said, “we have rather reduced the quantity of fish imported by 56 per cent. We are encouraging the local industry to grow.

As a long-term measure to save fuel, the government is in discussions with Honda for the acquisition of efficient fuel consumption outboard motors. Currently, the motor in normal use is a two-stroke engine. The new ones will have a four-stroke engine, reducing consumption by up to 50 per cent, said the minister.

Barely moments before The Statesman went to bed, call finally came from John Mahama. He said: “I have checked with any person within the party executive who ought to know, including the National Youth Organiser, and none of them knows anything about this. It might be from a very zealous splinter group.”