Ningo Prampram Member of Parliament Samuel Nartey George has told the government to take off the taxes on petroleum products in order to reduce fuel prices.
Sam George indicated that 40% of the cost of fuel is government taxes therefore if the government wants cheap fuel it should remove those levies.
“If you want to see cheap oil, you don’t need to trade gold, you just need to have the government take off the taxes. 40% of the cost of fuel government taxes,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Monday, February 6 while contributing to a discussion on the Gold-for-Oil initiative.
Last year, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, announced a new government policy dubbed Gold for Oil.
The policy, as explained by government, is to allow government pay for imported oil products with gold, in a direct barter with gold purchased by the Central Bank.
The move, announced by the Vice President in the midst of depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar and the rising cost of fuel prices, was explained as an intervention to help stabilise prices of fuel products, as well as reduce pressure on Ghana’s foreign exchange, as the direct gold barter would be the mode of paying for imported oil instead of depleting the foreign exchange reserve.
The Gold for Oil programme has since been implemented with the first oil consignment arriving last month.