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The former deputy Minister for Energy, Mohammed Amin Adam, has maintained that the current reduction in fuel prices at the pumps is directly due to the impact of the gold-for-oil policy.
Providing further details on the policy, the Member of Parliament for Karaga said the policy intervention has contributed to the strengthening of the cedi against the dollar, causing a reduction of fuel prices at the pumps.
His comments come after the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) dismissed claims that the recent reductions in fuel prices are due to the gold-for-oil policy.
According to ACEP, the reduction is attributable to a drop in crude oil prices globally and not the impact of the government’s gold for oil policy.
ACEP Executive Director, Benjamin Boakye said the government should not take credit for the reduction in the prices of fuel.
“If you are really analysing how the pricing mechanics work, you would note that it has nothing to do with gold for oil policy. We are seeing prices on the international market drop. Indications are that, it is even going to drop further.”
But speaking to Umaru Sanda Amadu in an interview on Eyewitness News, on Thursday, March 16, Amin Adam, who is also the Minister of State-designate for the Finance Ministry said the claims by ACEP are baseless.
“It cannot be true that because crude oil prices are failing, that is why the domestic prices are falling. The domestic prices are falling because of the interventions we have made which have helped on the exchange rate side and the impact of the exchange rate is what we are seeing in the fall of domestic prices of petroleum prices at the pumps.
Meanwhile, the Association for Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) says the actual impact of the gold for oil policy cannot be truly assessed as products through the policy account for only 22% of the petroleum volumes at the pumps.
In an interview with Citi News‘ Hanson Aagyemang, the CEO of the association, Kwaku Agyeman-Duah tasked stakeholders to work towards increasing the number of volumes supplied through the policy.
“We have not been having a lot of fuel for everybody because the percentage for the total output is not that much so not everyone can get it. As we speak now, the supply so far constitutes just about 22 percent of the market, so 22 percent will not have so much impact vs the 78 percent on the other side, so it is a gradual thing.”
