Any Government That Buys Petrol At World Market Price Is Inefficient And Ineffective - Kwesi Pratt Tells Gov't

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has lambasted the leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the new adjustments in petrol prices. Recently, prices of petroleum products were cut down by 10 percent by the National Petroleum Authority to ease the pressures on consumers in the nation. Despite the reduction, some Ghanaians and critics have vehemently stressed the need for measures to be taken by the government to drastically reduce the prices since to them; the 10% cut is diminutive as compared to other prices on the World Market. NPP leaders have also accused the Mahama administration of mismanaging the petroleum sector of the economy. Addressing the issues on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Mr. Pratt picked on the Minority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and some bigwigs in the NPP as well as NDC gurus for singing the same tune since 1986. According to Mr. Pratt, since 1986, the country has not experienced any new changes so far as the petroleum sector is concerned. He noted that both the NPP and NDC including previous governments have all rolled out similar policies to check petroleum prices. He further stated that the policies are however not transparent and fail to suit fuel consumers in the country. Kwesi Pratt asserted that the NPP and NDC have both been very inconsistent in their positions on petrol price fluctuations. He recounted eras when he together with some notable members in the NPP and NDC took active roles in the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) to fight against any price increases under the Kufour and Rawlings regimes and other regimes. He stressed that no government would be fair in its estimations on petrol prices if it calculates the price indexes according to World Market Prices. “If there’s any government in this world and it buys its petrol [crude oil] at World Market Spot Price, then it is an inefficient, ineffective government. Because every government buys at negotiated prices...Nobody buys at World Market Spot Prices.” In his conviction, both the NPP and NDC seem to lie on the same bed when it comes to petrol price adjustments in the country. He therefore called on the government to be transparent with Ghanaians.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com