The Cedi Has Appreciated Against The Dollar; What Is The Justification Of Maintaining Fuel Prices?

Pius Enam Hadzide, a Deputy Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has questioned the government justification of maintaining the current petroleum prices, giving the fact that the Ghana Cedi has risen against the Dollar. According to him, fuel prices in recent times have been determined by the performance of the Cedi against the major trading currencies, especially, the Dollar. And if the Ghana Cedi is gaining in value against these currencies, it must reflect in the pricing of petroleum products. ��why have fuel prices not been reviewed downwards, since the Cedi has appreciated in value? If we are truly practicing an automatic adjustment formula, petroleum prices must be down by now,� he said in an interview with Peacefmonline.com . The Cedi has suffered depreciation in value over the last nine months, forcing the Bank of Ghana to announce measures to help stem the tide. The Central Bank revised rules governing the operations of Foreign Exchange Accounts (FEA) and Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA) with effect from February 5, 2014 and directed authorised dealers not to sell foreign exchange for the credit of FEA or FCA of their customers. It also stated that cash withdrawals over the counter from FEA and FCA shall only be permitted for travel purposes outside Ghana and shall not exceed US$10,000.00 or its equivalent in convertible foreign currency, per person, per travel. The Bank of Ghana required all exporters to collect and repatriate in full, the proceeds of their exports to their local banks within 60 days of shipment. These were amongst many other measures the government put in place to check the fall of the Cedi but one major way Ghanaians felt the fall of the Cedi directly was the increment of petroleum products, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is mainly used for household cooking. The pricing of these products were pegged to the rate of the Cedi against the Dollar but the Deputy Communications Director of the NPP wants a downward review of the prices due to the constant fall of the Dollar with respect to the Cedi. To him, �the government would be ripping off Ghanaians if the review is not done immediately�.