Minority Caucus Wednesday is discussing the topic "petroleum pricing judgment against government." Regular host Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa will host the man who went to court with the matter and got his reliefs from the court - Kwaku Kwarteng. Read the synopsis below. The High Court of Ghana has just passed judgment confirming Government had been taking an illegal price differential on ex-pump fuel prices since 2009. That is about GHS 690m to date and still counting being fleeced from already hard pressed Ghanaians. Rather than implement the decision of the court and bring relief to poor suffering Ghanaians, the Government is threatening to appeal the decision. This is a Government which virtually promised free petrol. Before the run-off in 2008, then Candidate and thereafter President-elect, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, declared that within 100 days he would deliver his promise of drastically reduced fuel prices and also waive taxes on petroleum products. On 14th December, 2008, the NDC reacted to the Government reduction of fuel prices on the 12th December 2008 as follows “We have noted with much interest the announcement that prices of petroleum products have been reduced with immediate effect from 6 a.m. of December 12, 2008. The announcement is in obvious response to the outcome of the December 7 elections and to Prof. Evans Atta Mills’ assurance to the people of Ghana that when he ascends power as the next President of Ghana he will reduce drastically the prices of petroleum products. “We note that the announced reductions are completely at variance with the prices that should be in place in consonance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula. As a result, the new announced prices are still far above what they ought to be. Indeed, spot prices of petroleum products on the international market indicate that a reduction of 20-30 percent (and not the 14-20 percent announced by the NPA) is the appropriate margin that would bring the prices abreast with the levels that should prevail on the Ghanaian market, in compliance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula.” “Petrol should not sell for more than GH¢2.80 per gallon (GH¢0.6222 or 62 Gp per litre) as compared with the quoted price of GH¢3.69 per gallon (while diesel should sell at about GH¢2.65 per gallon (GH¢0.5889 or 59Gp) and not the GH¢4.00 per gallon quoted. In our view, the NPA is in contravention of article 58(1) of the NPA Act (Act 691, 2005) and is clearly colluding with government to exploit the already impoverished Ghanaian consumer by unjustifiably and blatantly misapplying the prescribed petroleum products formula to overcharge consumers. We call on Government to compel the NPA to further reduce the prices of petroleum products in line with the international trends and in a transparent and accountable manner as established by law.” This posturing was at a time when world fuel prices were gradually dropping from an unprecedented high of $147 to just about $47.7 per barrel. Rather than reduce prices drastically, one of the first acts of the President was to increase prices drastically. The President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, defended his actions by blaming debts inherited from the Kufuor administration and increases in global oil prices, conveniently forgetting that Kufuor faced the same price constraints and worked without revenues from oil discoveries. The threat to appeal the judgment which has exposed the stealing from ordinary Ghanaians who do not enjoy free fuel from the Castle is the height of hypocrisy and propaganda. Has this Government become so insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians since they ride in free fuel guzzling V8’s or it is just incompetence? Tonight Minority Caucus seeks to find this out with the help of the courageous gentlemen who used the rule of law to expose the incompetence and corruption of the Government. 1. What exactly does the judgment say? 2. What will be its projected effect on the Ghanaian public who buy fuel and use public transport services? 3. Did the President know he was lying when he re-affirmed his promises after price reductions in 2008?