Government has come under increasing pressure to reduce prices of fuel in the country following the easing of crude oil prices on the world market. The prices on Monday hit below the $100-per-barrel mark, after a record high of $147 per barrel. Government under the petroleum policy of deregulation adjusted prices to correspond with prices on the world market, but halted the pricing component of the policy in May when crude oil hit $147 per barrel. The move was part of government's mitigation measures to ease the effects of food and crude oil prices on Ghanaians. With crude oil now selling at $97, commercial drivers and other civil society groups told Joy News government must reduce prices accordingly. But government says it is too early to call for a reduction. Kweku Kwarteng government spokesperson on finance told Joy News government has to recover huge deficits it made with the mitigation policy it implemented. He said government and the National Petroleum Authority were still monitoring prices on the world market and will respond appropriately. “We are not sure if prices will go up next week, or next two weeks, the NPA will fix new prices after it calculates and recoups loses made when prices were stable.” “It would be in the interest of the economy if prices were reduced if the downward trend of the crude oil prices continues,” he added. But the Committee for Joint Action says Ghanaians cannot pay for government’s ineptitude. “The government mitigation did not work how do we pay for a something which did not work.” Kwesi Pratt spokesperson for the committee told Joy News. He called on government to reduce without delay the prices of petroleum products. Author: Nathan Gadugah