GEA urges government, NPA to avoid quantum leap in fuel prices

The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA) on Tuesday called on the Government and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to endeavour to avoid any future high quantum leap in fuel price adjustment, which had serious implications on business planning. The Association was of the view that under the petroleum prices review mechanism, prices of fuel were adjusted periodically by the NPA based on the prevailing world crude oil prices at least every quarter. “The essence of this is to ensure that consumers can cope with any gradual increases as when the prices are adjusted,” it added in a statement signed by Mr T.R. Darko, GEA President in Accra. It said “For the NPA to have waited for over 14 months before a massive review in prices of up to 30 per cent rise defeats the purpose and effect for which the petroleum review mechanism was intended to achieve. “The adverse effects of this alarming rise in prices of petroleum products coupled with high utility tariffs and lending rates on cost of doing business in the country is enormous,” the statement said. The Association was of the view that businesses in Ghana had to struggle to cope with the high utility tariffs and cost of credit to be able to stay competitive, any future petroleum price adjustment must be done with circumspection and based purely on the price review mechanism and their respective time lines.