The Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has suggested to the government to find innovative ways of fixing fuel prices to prevent hikes anytime the world market prices shoot up.
“The practice of always passing the cost onto Ghanaians whenever crude oil prices shoot up on the world market is not sustainable and will only serve to aggravate the suffering of the average Ghanaian,” it said.
Addressing a press conference on the expectations of the Mills Administration, Mr Bernard Mornah, a leading member of the CJA, expressed the association’s dissatisfaction with the recent fuel price increases and called on the government to take steps to reduce it to bring relief to the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said the government could also reduce the prices downwards and look for alternative sources of revenue generation to make up for the shortfall.
He described the first reduction in the tax component in the price build-up as ineffective because there was no reduction in transport fares hence the ordinary Ghanaian who depended on public transport did not benefit.
Mr Mornah, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), added that the government had the responsibility of disclosing the indebtedness of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and thoroughly investigating how all the revenue from the TOR Debt Recovery imposed on the Ghanaians was used.
He said it was the expectation of the CJA that the Mills Administration would move swiftly to address the acute and perennial water shortage which had resulted in Ghanaians carrying gallons and trekking long distances in search of water.
“Clean and potable water should be made an affordable commodity for the generality of Ghanaians. It is in this vein that we look forward to the review of all agreements with foreign business concerns that have taken over the provision of water but have proven unequal to the task,” he said.
Mr Mornah said the Mills Administration must take concrete steps to review the 70 per cent share of the Ghana Telecom that the Kufuor Administration sold to Vodafone with the aim of retrieving such national assets.
He said there was the need to stop the policy of disposing of strategic state assets any time the nation was in financial difficulty; a practice that had not yielded the desired results over the years.
He also urged the Mills Administration to take steps to recover all the monies stolen by state and public officials through corruption and mismanagement and punish all those found culpable of embezzling state funds.
Mr Mornah said the government must also evolve strategic means of blocking all loopholes identified within the public sector that had made it possible for corrupt officials to loot state coffers.
He commended the government for its indication to cut out ostentatious and profligate expenditure that characterised the dealings of the Kufuor Administration and expressed the hope that the commitment on the part of President J.E.A. Mills would be carried through and not be a nine day’s wonder.
He also praised President Mills for initiating moves “to ensure that the unacceptable recommendations of the Chinery-Hesse Committee are reviewed in spite of the protestations of some powerful interested groups”.
“The CJA also looks forward to see the restoration of the image, independence and impartiality of the judiciary that took a nose-dive under the NPP. We do not wish to see the sort of executive interference in the work of the judiciary that obtained under President Kufuor,” Mr Mornah said.
He said the country’s image had been badly dented by the increasing trafficking of illicit drugs in the country and called for radical measures to stem the tide in order to restore Ghana’s image.
He also appealed to the Members of Parliament (MPs) to live up to their responsibility to avoid embarrassing situations resulting from dubious agreements such as the CNTCI, IFC and VALCO that were passed.
Another leading member of the CJA, Dr David Pessy, said if the government consistently refused to heed to the call to reduce prices and make life bearable, “we will advise ourselves and we may stage demonstrations or present petitions”.
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