The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), has welcomed the President's recent economic relief package for Ghanaians following the escalating price of crude oil but called on government to remove all taxes on petroleum products including petrol. In a press statement signed by its acting Secretary-General, Kofi Asamoah, the TUC asked the government "to go the extra mile to reduce tariffs on water and remove all taxes on petrol and LPG" "As we have pointed out time and again, this is not the time that government should depend on taxes on petroleum for revenue," the statement said. The congress contended that there is no justification for any form of taxes on petroleum products at the time the price per barrel of crude oil has passed the US$130 mark, adding. "The removal of all taxes on petroleum products is needed now to fully cushion the population from the current crisis." The TUC noted that there were similar economic measures in the past "that never yielded the expected or desired results due to laxities in their implementation". The union is hopeful that the relevant authorities and agencies will this time, implement these measures to ensure the realisation of their full benefits. In times like these, "We cannot continue to rely on moral suasion (persuasion) to get private sector importers, traders and transport owners to reduce prices of their commodities and services," the statement emphasised and called on government to set in motion, appropriate mechanisms to ensure effective implementation of the measures announced. While welcoming the short term measures of the President's intervention, TUC says it is concerned about the long term effects of the removal of taxes on the importation of rice on agriculture and generally on food production in the country. "Already, foreign rice has dominated our domestic market and has caused loss of many jobs in the agricultural sector," the statement pointed out. The congress however, acknowledged that though the measures adopted including the removal of the import tariffs on rice and other food items may be appropriate for as long as the crisis lasts, they need to be reviewed over time. “While the congress is hopeful that the situation on the international market will soon improve, it however has no "reason to believe that the situation will change soon." “We are particularly concerned about the rising domestic inflation and its negative impact on the real value of wages,” the statement stressed and promised to monitor the situation closely. It opined that if the current trend continues, “there will be the need for further specific measures to cushion salaried workers and the population at large,” and urged the government to act in consultation with unions, employers and other stakeholders to deal with the situation “when that time comes.” It said even though government has the mandate to adopt and review economies, “the quality of such policies and measures and their impact should fully reflect the interests of all stakeholders.” It said that can be achieved “only if government provides enough space for the stakeholders to participate in such important national decisions.” President John Agyekum Kufuor in a nationwide broadcast on May 22 announced the removal of import duties on rice, wheat, yellow corn and vegetable oil among several other measures. The move, he explained, was to ease the impact of the increasing world price of crude oil and the worsening global food crisis. Source: Ghanaian Times