<<Print>>

The Atta Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration has been caught pants down, having been reportedly exposed as fleecing Ghanaians with respect to the recent 30 percent increment in the prices of petroleum products. A former Deputy Minister for Energy and Member of Parliament (MP) for Asokwa-Adansi, Hon. K. T. Hammond, in an interview with journalists at Parliament yesterday, accused the government and National Petroleum Authority (NPA) of being deceitful and fraudulent in calculating the figures in the petroleum price build-up. The accusation followed the inability of the Deputy Minister for Energy, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to tell legislators on the floor of Parliament about the price build-up that informed the astronomical 30 percent increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene.Standing in for the substantive Minister who was missing in action, Hon. Buah could not provide figures in the petroleum price build-up as requested by a former Deputy Energy Minister and MP for Nkoranza South, Kwame Amporfo Twumasi and other MPs from the Minority side on the issue, saying he would provide answers later. According to Hon. K. T. Hammond, official documents available to him provide overwhelming evidence that the government is simply being untruthful and has inflated the figures it is quoting as the ex-refinery prices for premium, kerosene and gas announced last June 6.Indeed, copies of the documents marked confidential, which the Daily Guidie sighted, revealed that government through NPA had inflated the ex-refinery price differential by �3000, �4170 and about �10,000 per gallon on petrol, kerosene and diesel respectively. Furthermore, ex-refinery price differential of 14.39, 14.39 and 25.93 US cents are being charged per litre on Marine Gas, Gas oil (Mines) and ATK respectively.Consequently, these are the additional amounts consumers pay for buying these petroleum products in the midst of President Mills� political campaign promise to �drastically� reduce fuel prices. Such extra monies accrued, according a letter written by the Acting Chief Executive of NPA, Alex Mould, dated June 5, 2009, are to be paid into NPA Ghana Cedi Account at the Bank of Ghana - Industry Management Accounts Number 01-256-601730-01 and NPA US Dollar Account at Ecobank Account Number 2901531460213.The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has not been able to adequately explain to the suffering Ghanaians why they are being burdened with the huge 30 percent increase in petroleum prices as recently announced in the midst of crunching financial difficulties facing the ordinary people. Accordingly, the Energy Ministry was hauled to Parliament by the Minority in Parliament to give a breakdown of the build-up in prices of petroleum products. Unfortunately however, the Deputy Minister and MP for Ellembelle could not provide the actual figures, presenting more doubts about the sincerity of government in handling the issue it had widely accused the NPP administration of.In an attempt to provide some answers to the lingering questions, Hon. Buah stated in Parliament that the petroleum price review of June 6 by the NPA that resulted in the 30 percent increase in the price of petroleum was based on NPA�s pricing formula for ex-pump prices of petroleum products. He said the price increases were also informed by upward movement of the price of landed petroleum products, claiming that �there was no change in taxes and levies during this review period. There was also no change in the Integrated Distribution Margin�.