An Energy Strategist Dr. Yusuf Suleiman is calling on government to make use of funds accrued from the special petroleum tax to cushion consumers in the downstream as fuel prices continue to increase.

According to him, the ongoing increases at the pumps will have a significant impact on inflation, causing prices of goods and services to go up.

Speaking to Joy Business, Dr. Suleiman said the duty of government is to protect the public from the negative effects of price hikes.

“How come government introduced the special petroleum levy when the crude prices was dropping and we are losing on the upstream because government’s budget is being affected. This is the same call we are making that the reverse should happen so that the fund can be used to support the current situation as it is having a significant effect on inflation”, he argued.

Dr. Suleiman spoke at the Second Society of Petroleum Engineers, (SPE) summit and exhibition in Accra.

He insisted that government cannot pretend it is unaware when prices are going up on the world market and the country is benefiting from the sale of oil but will look unconcern when the same situation is bringing hardship on ordinary people at the pumps.

Dr. Suleiman blamed the situation on the Bank of Ghana’s inability to sustainably control inflation since fuel price hikes affect all sectors of the economy.

“This is the reason government is unable to tame inflation to a sustainable level because we are not able to get a response on this policy. We must do better and help the public”.

Recent price hikes

Fuel prices have been going up at the pumps since the beginning of the year as a result of depreciation of the cedi and marginal increases in the global crude price.

The situation has impacted on inflation in the past few months as government struggles to stabilize the economy under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

Dr. Suleiman said the time has come for policy makers to intervene in cushioning consumers, particularly from the impact petroleum products price increase.

“It is about time that we trigger the use of the fund in the reverse because there is no way crude prices will drop anytime soon especially when our local currency is also not stable” he noted.

Some Oil Marketing Companies have started adjusting prices at the pumps although Industry players like the Chamber for Petroleum Consumers Ghana has projected a reduction in prices for the second window of May.