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General News of Saturday, 30 April 2005

Source: GNA

Govt cannot reduce prices of petroleum products

Akrofrom (Ash.) April 30, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Asamoa Owusu-Ansah, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, has stated that there is no way the government could reduce the prices of petroleum products in the face of rising crude oil price on the world market. He has therefore, called on Ghanaians to support efforts by the government to deregulate the petroleum sector to enable it raise revenue to provide more development projects, particularly, in rural communities to improve the quality of life of the people.

Mr Owusu-Ansah, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwabre West, was addressing separate durbars held in his honour during a tour of some communities in the Constituency. Apagya, Akrofrom, Aduamoa, Afrancho/Bronkong, Buoho, Akrowa, Mowire and Kodie were among the communities he visited. He used the tour to brief his constituents on the work of Parliament and listened to their concerns so as to be able to articulate them on the floor of the House.

The Deputy Minister told the people that the government was sensitive to their welfare and would not unnecessarily inflict hardships on them and said that they should therefore ignore what he termed the "political mischief and propaganda of its opponents". Mr Owusu-Ansah advised the people to ensure that they honour their tax obligations and took the initiative to provide some development projects on their own.

He reminded them that it was simply not possible for the government to provide every single need of all the communities in the country. He advised the people to form co-operatives so as to attract financial support from the banks to boost their economic activities. They should also embrace the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by paying their premium, saying, this was necessary to help them have access to quality health care. Nana Owusu Peprah, Chief of Apagya, appealed to the Deputy Minister to liaise with the Ministry of Health to get health personnel posted to the community clinic they themselves have constructed in the town. He should also ensure regular visits to know of the problems facing the people and bring them to the attention of the government.