Dissolve NPA if it cannot regulate prices of petroleum – Dr Wereko-Brobby
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby has called for the National Petroleum Authority to be dissolved if it cannot execute its mandate of regulating the skyrocketing prices of petroleum products to give customers some relief.
He stresses that it is about time the NPA monitors the Oil Marketing Companies to adhere to deregulation laws.
Dr Wereko-Brobby expressed worry that the current fuel pricing is like a jungle market and the NPA comes in because there have been two pricing windows made for deregulation and the NPA is supposed to reveal the maximum retail price to help the customer from being cheated by the OMC’s
“But NPA has reneged on its duty and given it to COPEC which ironically is supposed to be representing the interest of the consumer… COPEC is now the chief cheerleader for marketing companies that keep announcing prices willy-willy. That is not the way deregulation was set up to go, it just keeps piling the pressure on [consumers],” Dr Wereko-Brobby said.
According to Dr Wereko-Brobby, the Russia-Ukraine war is one of the issues that has caused fuel prices to go up and the government in turn passes all the costs down to the citizenry so currently the prices reflect a picture of the world market prices and the windfall is not being discussed.
He asked the government says it feels the plight of the citizenry when its officials travel around the country with 60 SUVs.
Also, he questioned the mandate of the NPA as a regulator if it cannot get the regulation job done to ensure customers have some relief.
On Tuesday, November 1, fuel prices increased again with diesel now at GH¢23.49 per litre while petrol jumped to GH¢17.99 per litre and kerosene on the other hand is also selling at GH¢14.70.
