Audio By Carbonatix
The Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer says that the main reason behind the current decrease in fuel prices is Government’s Gold for Oil policy.
Speaking on Joy News’ AM Show, he mentioned that there are two factors that determine the increase or reduction in fuel prices in the country and these are the Global Market Price and the Exchange Rate.
According to him, the impact of the Exchange Rate on fuel prices is much more significant than that of the Global Market Price and he believes that the Gold for Oil Policy has greatly helped to stabilize the cedi hence the decrease in fuel prices can be attributed to that.
“So clearly this analysis pointed to the government that the impact of forex is much more significant than the reduction of the prices at the global level and so it was important for you to then focus on how you stabilize the cedi which then behaves as a result of demand and supply forces,”
“And so if you introduce a policy that then reduces the demand for dollar significantly, that then will result in some reduction in the exchange rate which then translates to savings at the pumps,”
“So if you look at the analysis carefully, you will see that yes, even though there’s a reduction of the price at the global level, the stable cedi and the reduction in demand as a result of the Gold for Oil Policy’s introduction is significant in terms of what it is that is reflecting at the pumps today,” he explained.
The Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Sekondi Constituency added that he also finds it derogatory when people address the Gold for oil policy as a “Controversial Deal”.
According to him, it is just a transaction between the government and other parties to exchange commodities of the same value and amount.
“I’m saying that the way and manner we use the word “deal” in this country connotes some negativity and I don’t think it’s appropriate,”
“So if you call it a deal, for me it’s derogatory, and it’s not, it’s a policy that the government of Ghana is ruling out,” he said.
The Deputy Energy Minster also mentioned that the Ministry is in full support of ECG’s efficiency and revenue mobilization process.
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