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FUEL PRICE WON’T GO DOWN - BOTWE
 FRIDAY, 1ST APRIL, 2005 -- The Government says the current level of petroleum prices will remain unchanged in spite of calls by a section of the society for a cut in the new price of ¢30,000 a gallon.
However, information minister, Dan Botwe said, “the government’s doors are still open to all stakeholders for suggestions to enhance its efforts at mitigating the impact of fuel prices.” Mr Botwe stated this at a press conference in Accra yesterday to respond to demands by organised labour for a reduction in the prices of petroleum products.
Mr Botwe restated that “fuel prices had to go up because of the need to take corrective measures towards full cost recovery on petroleum products, raise enough revenue to cut back on donor support for development and to bring Ghana’s pricing in line with other West African countries in order to reduce smuggling.”
He said “reports that the Government is insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians are not correct. “It is more as a result of government’s sensitivity to these hardships that the increases are at the levels they are now,” he stated.
Mr Botwe said the social mitigation levy component in the petroleum tax structure was necessary to fund the mitigation measures outlined by the Government. For example, he said, “it is revenue from the social mitigation levy that will be used to pay for more buses to augment the fleet of the metro mass transport system.”
Mr Botwe argued that “with the reduction in personal and corporate tax, the Government expects to release ¢299 billion in tax revenue to put into people’s pockets.” He said it was not true that the Government did not consult with organised labour before the prices were fixed, as the TUC stated at the news conference.
He stated that prior to the fixing of the new prices in March, the Government had since the beginning of the year had wide consultations with organised labour, deliberating on different levels of price increases and ways to mitigate their impact on the economy.
Mr Botwe stressed that the decision to fix fuel prices was the sole prerogative of the Government, and had been justifiably exercised in the interest of the nation. He recalled that at one of the meetings with organised labour, the issue of an efficient consumer credit system was raised by labour, adding, “Government welcomes any suggestions to use revenue from the social mitigation levy to address such concerns.”
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