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Opinions of Monday, 28 February 2011

Columnist: Sangaparee, Clement

The NPP gov't And Petroleum Price Increases From 2001-2008

The NPP government under Ex-President Kufuor wrote a memo to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2001 in connection with the TOR DEBT and it reads thus: In order to HALT the on going losses at TOR, the government raised the ex-refinery gasoline prices by average 91% in February, 2001 with immediate effect. THERE WAS NO DEMONSTRATION BY THE NDC because the price of fuel in Ghana was then GH¢6.40 (six thousand four hundred old cedis).

In April 2001, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) allowed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to raise the retail price of Electricity by 96%-THE NDC NEVER HIT THE STREETS WITH ANY DEMONSTRATION. Then the Volta River Authority (VRA) raised its wholesale electricity price by 100%, but the NDC did not demonstrate. Why is the NPP now trying to throw dust into the eyes of well meaning Ghanaians by using their Alliance for Attacking Government (AFAG) to engage in USELESS DEMONSTRATIONS in Kumasi and Accra since 2010 and 2011. In justifying another price increase two years later, the then NPP government declared in the 2003. Budget thus: A Debt Recovery Levy will be imposed on the use of petroleum products. The proceeds from the Levy will be placed in a SINKING FUND and used to REPAY THE ACCUMULATED TOR DEBT incurred from selling petroleum products BELOW COST IN THE PAST. This is urgent in order to reduce the systematic Risk POSED by the LARGE DEBT OF TOR to the Bank Sector and the Economy. When Ghanaians were heavily levied and the money was accrued to be used in paying the TOR DEBT, Kufuor’s ‘NPP government dishonestly diverted the money through the Controller and Accountant General who wrote a letter to Mr.Kwame Ansah, the then Director,banking Dept . of the Bank of Ghana on 8th July, 2008 to release an amount of GH¢ 1,500,00 from the petroleum Debt Recovery No: 0123260014022 into Ministry of Information and Presidential sub. Operational Account No: 0121360071002 for the NPP Presidential Campaign in 2008 WITHOUT PAYING A PESEWA INTO THE TOR A ACCOUNT. From that time, virtually every Budget statement by NPP government there after had a vision for this OPAQUE JUSTIFICATION for raising petroleum prices to save the TOR by the NPP government and to also help the rural poor which turned out to be a BIG FIASCO so we are dealing with professional liars, dishonest and deceitful politicians and a bunch of anarchists in the NPP who cannot see anything beyond their stomachs. We know the character of the DANQUAH/BUSIA, UP elements very well. Now, when the NDC increased the prices of petroleum prices by only 30% in two years, the same hot headed politicians in the NPP are crying wolf where there is none-they must be very Ashamed of Themselves. The NPP can demonstrate to hell but not a pint of petrol will be reduced-because they (NPP) are the cause of these present ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS now starring Ghanaians in their faces. The NPP and its AFAG members are jealous of President Mills “Honest way of managing the affairs of Ghana excellently”. I am done.

…………………………….. CLEMENT SANGAPAREE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZER UNITED CADRES FRONT OBUASI E-MAIL: clementsang@yahoo.com DISTRIBTUTION: ALL MEDIA HOUSES ACCRA