Shama (W/R), July 20, GNA - The price of pre-mix and marine fuel for outboard motors and boats, have not been reviewed upwards, Mr Daniel Dugan, Deputy Minister of Fisheries has said.

He therefore asked fishermen to report any oil company selling the commodity above the approved prices to the political authorities. Mr Dugan was reacting to allegations by fishermen at New-Takoradi, near Takoradi on Tuesday that, some of the oil companies had increased prices of the pre-mix petrol without their prior information, during a working visit to some fishing communities in the Western Region.

A representative of the Sekondi branch of the Ghana Inshore Fishermen Association had told the Deputy Minister that one of the oil companies was demanding about 66.5 million cedis for the supply of 13,500 litres of pre-mix petrol.

He presented an invoice and order forms to support his allegation. Mr Dugan expressed surprise and promised to get in touch with the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and officials of the Ministry to ascertain the truth. His response calmed down tempers.

Mr Dugan asked the fishermen to respect the laws and regulations guarding their operations in order not to deplete the country's fish stock.