Sunyani, April 21, GNA - There has been mixed reaction by residents of the Sunyani Municipality to moves to increase the prices of petroleum products following the price hike of crude oil on the world market.

While others said it would impact negatively on businesses through the purchasing of costly materials, others were of the view that the increases would facilitate government efforts at accelerating the pace of national development.

The GNA sampled the views of a cross-section of traders and workers in Sunyani on Friday to find out if they would welcome any increases in the price of petroleum products.

Rosemond, a sales girl at the Farmers Supermarket, said any upward adjustment of the prices of petroleum products would take more than half of her salary and this would threaten her very survival. "I will have to spend more than 50 per cent of my income on transport. In extreme cases I may be forced to stop boarding taxis to work since I cannot afford the new fares", she said.

Mr Yaw Osei Aboagye, an economist, said, "it will be unthinkable for anybody to say that the government is not sensitive to the plight and welfare of the masses.''

"It is imperative for the government to deal with the problem of fuel price instability from a realistic point of view rather than adopting a partisan approach in solving the problem."

"Ghana is not an oil-producing country. It is only prudent for the government to maintain a regular supply of the commodity to enable it to run the economy. This cannot be done if the nation has a huge debt hanging around its neck," he said. Mr Aboagye said crude oil production was barely keeping up with rising global demand, leaving a slim margin for error if there was a prolonged supply interruption.

The analyst said oil prices were likely to climb further as long as geopolitical risks in Iran and Nigeria posed threats to supplies at a time when global demand remained strong and supplies remained tight.