CJA reacts to petroleum price hikes

THE Committee for Joint Action (CJA), a pressure group, has called on government to find better means of generating revenue for development and dealing with the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) debt instead of always taxing the poor Ghanaian to make up for these shortfalls.
“It is time to concentrate on dealing with the massive corruption and thievery in the revenue generating agencies to increase revenue. The CJA opposed to the instinct to tax the poor whenever it was unable or unwilling to deal with the rot and inefficiency in the country”
The Convener of CJA, Mr Kwesi Adu who made this known at a press conference in Accra today in reaction to the recent fuel price hikes announced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
He described the reason for the recent fuel price hikes as “ridiculous” because the Mills Administration in February 2010 told Ghanaians that the Kufuor Administration diverted GH¢ 270 million of the TOR debt recovered from Ghanaians and added that instead of dealing with those involved, it was asking the same Ghanaian to pay more for what they had already paid for.
He condemned both the NPP and the NDC for always using the “same tired excuse” such rise in fuel prices on world market, the need to remove government subsidies on fuel and the need to increase profit margins of oil marketing companies as reason for fuel price hikes.
He said if was a “fallacy” for the government to use the excuse about rises in the world market prices of oil” because in May 2010 the government said it had struck a deal with Equatorial Guinea for supply of one million barrels of oil a year and had also had similar deals with Libya and Nigeria.
On the diversion of the reclaimed TOR debt by some officials of the Kufor Administration, Mr Adu called on the Mills Administration to take steps to recover these monies and bring the perpetrators to book.
He explained that it was to pay for these diverted monies that the government had increased the TOR Recovery Levy by 400 per cent and said “the message here is that it is all right for politicians to divert state money for parochial purpose and make the poor people of Ghana to pay for it”.
“The CJA finds it unacceptable that a time when Ghanaians have not seen much improvement in their living conditions, the government should be asking the same poor people to carry the additional tax burden just to increase the profit margins of petroleum distributors in the country,” he said.
Mr Adu said the CJA was incensed that whenever the government was unable to apply proper scrutiny and efficiency in the nation’s finances, their first instinct was to tax the people further.
He cited the example of road tolls which was increased by 1000 per cent in 2009 but the revenue from it increased by only 106 per cent and asked where was the additional 894 per cent gone to.
He reminded the NDC government that under the Kufuor Administration when the price per barrel of crude oil reached $ 139.83, the ex-pump price per litre was GH¢ 1.18 per litre.
“What sound explanation can the NDC government give to justify the fact that now that the price of Brent Crude is less than $96 per barrel we should pay GH¢1.52 per litre,” Mr Adu added.
With regards to call on the CJA to take to the streets, Mr Adu said the CJA would not do that to please the NPP who were calling them (CJA) names when they demonstrated during the Kufuor Administration.
He recalled some of the treatment including severe beatings and molestation meted out to CJA members which resulted in the injuries and death of Danny Ofori Atta.
He stated that the leading members of the NPP could also organise their own demonstrations.
Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, a leading member of the CJA said government should be truthful to Ghanaians and tell them how much they make in revenue when world market prices of crude reduced.