GPRTU cautions against fare increments amidst hike in petroleum products

He noted that prematurely increasing prices while discussions are ongoing can cause confusion and create enmity between passengers and drivers.

According to him, they have suggested many times that a dual pricing formula should be considered.

“Now considering dual fuel pricing is to say that look, in times when prices are favourable, we could have the full stream of taxes, but in times when prices are so bad that if we allowed the pumps to just adjust, everybody will have to pay so much, cost of living baselines will go up.”

“The government will have to find money……once that happens, government’s expenditure will simply be thrown overboard, and so we are thinking that the earlier they consider a dual pricing formula where when international market prices are so bullish, we ease down the taxes a bit.”

“When we can accommodate the taxes then you can introduce and even add on so that the prices will be a bit balanced and stable, but as it stands we are not looking for that,” he added.

On his side, a Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bopkin said any attempt by the government to subsidise petroleum products will be dire for the economy.

“This is an election year, and yet we have all this ‘dumsor’ and all of that going on, if there is really anything that the government will want to do, perhaps then time is not on their side but I think that we should just brace ourselves for more challenges ahead, of course we know that the worst phase scenario we have crossed that but we are not out of the race, they are challenges ahead,” he said.