The government has suspended the GH¢1 levy on petroleum products for October as part of measures to cushion consumers against rising fuel prices.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Edudzi Tamakloe, said the decision was reached following an emergency stakeholder meeting convened under the direction of President John Dramani Mahama to address mounting pressures on petroleum prices.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mr Tamakloe said Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson had agreed to suspend the levy for the month as part of government’s efforts to prevent a sharp increase in prices at the pump.
He explained that the suspension would provide temporary relief to consumers while government continues to monitor developments in the international and domestic petroleum markets.
“The Finance Minister has graciously agreed to also suspend the one-city levy for this month of October. Hopefully, if things change, we may have to restore it. But until then, the Finance Minister has given us this gracious opportunity,” Mr Tamakloe stated.
Mr Tamakloe also disclosed that the country’s two major refineries, Centoil and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), had agreed to maintain the prices at which they sell petroleum products to bulk distribution companies (BDCs).
He said the prices would remain at the levels agreed during the previous pricing window.
“What we’ve agreed today is that Centoil and TOR will maintain the price they sell to the BDCs at the last pricing window,” he said.
According to him, maintaining the refinery-to-BDC prices would help prevent additional increases along the petroleum supply chain and reduce the pressure on pump prices.
“The whole idea is that if we maintain the price sold to the BDCs from the two major refineries, we’ll be able to mitigate the escalating prices of petroleum products in the country,” he added.
Mr Tamakloe said the combined interventions would prevent diesel prices from reaching the level initially projected by the NPA for the current pricing window.
He said the authority had projected that diesel could reach GH¢22 per litre at the pump but government’s interventions would keep the price below GH¢20.
“From our projection, diesel is supposed to be selling at GH¢22 for this pricing window. Now, through government’s intervention, we’ll be doing below GH¢20 at the pump,” he stated.
The emergency meeting brought together the NPA, the country’s major refineries, BDCs, oil marketing companies (OMCs) and representatives of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), among other stakeholders.
The discussions focused on measures to cushion motorists, businesses and households from the impact of rising petroleum prices.
Mr Tamakloe said the measures formed part of a coordinated effort between government and key industry players to contain the effects of rising fuel costs.
Government is expected to continue monitoring developments in the global oil market and assess the sustainability of the measures during the October pricing window.
By 1960news.com
