Ranking Member on the Energy Committee in Parliament, John Jinapor has cautioned the government over its plans to secure cheaper petroleum products for the Ghanaian market.

The move, the government has said is to tackle the high cost of living in the country due to the increasing fuel prices.

Mr. John Jinapor in an interview on Top Story, Wednesday punched holes in the intended action by the government.

He argued that no where across the globe, would the government obtain petroleum products at a cheaper price and the discounted margins it is looking for.

“In this petroleum industry, there is nothing like free lunch. They also have their challenges, but more specifically like I stated, we are expecting some timelines from the President, probably within one month or two months or three weeks or one week,” he told Evans Mensah.

The Yapei Kusawgu MP said government is only engaging in “wishful thinking” as it is not yet certain of getting a deal.

“But if you just say you are going to try and that if you are lucky, that is wishful thinking…it is not as if you have achieved something concrete, it is not as if you have something you are really settled on in terms of timeline and so let us hope the wish of the President is successful,” he added.

It would be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in his broadcast to the nation last Sunday evening, revealed that his government is working to stabilise prices of petroleum products through new supply arrangements in a bid to tackle the high cost of living.

The Information Minister in an interview on PM Express on Monday also said government has commenced plans to secure cheaper petroleum products onto the Ghanaian market.

According to him, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Energy will provide further details about the importation of fuel onto the Ghanaian market in the coming days.

“In President Kufuor’s time, we did it with Nigeria, Sahara lifting for us and you could have supply credit lines and a fixed price that you could bank on and it is a very similar arrangement that has already commenced and I am expecting that in the coming weeks the NPA, the Energy Ministry will have the opportunity to provide the details,” he said.

Meanwhile, JoyNews sources also indicate that a government delegation is in Abu Dhabi negotiating a deal to bring petroleum products onto the Ghanaian market.

The Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage Transportation Limited, Edwin Provencal and National Petroleum Authority Boss, Perry Okudzeto are the key members leading the negotiation.

The delegation has been scheduled to meet the Chief Executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Sultan Al Jaber on Friday, November 4 to see how possible government can secure a cheaper fuel for the petroleum industry in the country.