Pressure group Committee for Joint Action has kicked against the recent increase in prices of petroleum products.
The National Petroleum Authority announced a 25/30 per cent increment in fuel prices at the pump earlier this month with many groups, including the New Patriotic Party and the Association of Ghana Industry calling on the government to reduce prices in order to reduce the cost of living.
But President Mills on Friday stated that his decision to allow the increase in fuel prices stems from the fact that government’s coffers was running dry and there was a need to grow the economy.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday morning, a leading member of the CJA Kwesi Pratt said government has reneged on its promise to reduce fuel prices, a promise the ruling party made whiles in opposition.
Mr. Pratt also accused the previous government of leaving behind a huge TOR debt after it misapplied the TOR Debt Recovery Levy and that, he said, has contributed to the recent hikes. “What we do know is that there have been public admissions that some of the monies which were collected as a result of the imposition of the TOR Debt Recovery Levy were not used to retire the debt and that they were used for other purposes,” he lamented.
The group however wants the debt to be retired and insists that government can still reduce fuel prices despite the debt that TOR is saddled with.
He expressed regrets that those responsible for the diversion of monies accrued from the collection of TOR debt recovery levy have not been punished.