Government's decision to buy fuel from cheaper sources far from possible – IES

The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has cast doubt over government's decision to purchase crude oil from cheaper sources. Consumers of petroleum products on November 1, began to witness a significant hike in prices at various pumps as petrol and diesel were selling at around GH¢17.99 and GH¢23.49 respectively. This development has resulted in government officials who are reported to be negotiating a deal in Abu Dhabi to bring cheaper petroleum products onto the Ghanaian market. Executive Director at the Institute, Nana Amoasi VII reacting to this believes that no international crude oil market would be willing to hand out petroleum products at a much cheaper rate. “I don’t know who is advising the Energy Minister, because the venture they are undertaking is far from possibility. This is not how the energy sector works, so they should be careful,” Nana Amoasi VII is quoted by Joy Business. He was also concerned that government’s decision to secure a deal for cheaper petroleum products was not an attempt to “waste the country’s meagre resources or an attempt to enrich a few people to the detriment of over 30 million Ghanaians or a deliberate attempt to grow the energy sector debt.” But the IES boss indicated that should the negotiations go according to plan, government must declare the full discount value which was agreed upon. “They must tell Ghanaians what they also gave in return for that favour. And also, we must be very careful, our fear as IES is that they could be giving out something for free in order to get that discount," he stressed. “If there is a market that can give you a cheap discount to beat all the markets all over the world, I am sure the BDCs would have gone for it. So let us be careful of the venture that we are undertaking,” the IES executive director warned. MA/FNOQ