When
it comes to gas prices increases, the least said about it the better. For a
country that suffers from lots of economic hardships, the news of the discovery
of gas reserves in Ghana came as a huge relief to Ghanaians. Ghanaians were
made to believe that with this discovery there was going to a reduction in gas
prices and therefore an overall drop in standard of living. With the advent of
the 2008 election campaign, promises were made by the incumbent government to
reduce prices of gas. The politics of gas prices is a never ending battle in
Ghana. A multi-party state with two main oppositions, the NPP (New Patriotic
Party) and the NDC (National Democratic Congress) between who power is changed
every four years. These political parties use gas prices to do politics
promising during their campaigns to reduce prices of gas but do the exact
opposite when elected but in the bid to be re-elected they lower prices.
As of the 4th of January, 2012
gas prices saw a 15% increase with the price of gallon of gas being $1.348. To
an American that might not seem like a lot of money but converting it to the
local currency, it is enough money to provide a person with almost three square
meals. So why Ghanaians concerned with are increase gas prices? First of all
the per capita income for a family is really low and most Ghanaians are not so
well to do. Many depend on public transport to go on with their day to day
activity. An increase in gas prices means an increase in bus fares and an
increase in goods and services available.
In the defense of the government, gas
prices are subsidized but the government is under intense pressure to pay off
debts owed by the country whilst making sure that the country is running well
in terms of its finances. The recent increase according to the government is as
a result of following the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I
believe the way forward is for the government to be straight forward with
Ghanaians in regards to how and why gas prices are increased. People are still
going to complain whenever gas prices are increased but really who doesn’t? My
only problem is that the politics of gas prices needs to end because no
political party really has the power to control how prices of gases are
regulated.
Written by: Nadia Koranteng
WSU International Student
Ghana
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