Energy Strategist Dr. Yusuf Suleiman is urging the government to utilize funds generated from the special petroleum tax to support consumers in the downstream sector as fuel prices rise.

Dr. Suleiman expressed concern that the continuous fuel price hikes would lead to inflation, resulting in higher prices for goods and services.

In an interview with Joy Business, he emphasized the government's responsibility to shield the public from the adverse impacts of price increases.

“How come government introduced the special petroleum levy when the crude prices was dropping and we are losing on the upstream because government’s budget is being affected. This is the same call we are making that the reverse should happen so that the fund can be used to support the current situation as it is having a significant effect on inflation”, he argued.

Dr. Suleiman addressed attendees at the Second Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) summit and exhibition in Accra.

He emphasized that the government cannot claim ignorance of rising prices on the world market while the country benefits from oil sales, yet appear indifferent to the hardships faced by ordinary people at the pumps.

Dr. Suleiman attributed this situation to the Bank of Ghana's failure to effectively control inflation, noting that fuel price increases impact all sectors of the economy.

“This is the reason government is unable to tame inflation to a sustainable level because we are not able to get a response on this policy. We must do better and help the public”.

Fuel prices have been steadily rising at the pumps since the start of the year due to the depreciation of the cedi and marginal increases in the global crude price.

This trend has had a notable impact on inflation in recent months, as the government works to stabilize the economy under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

Dr. Suleiman emphasized the need for policymakers to intervene and provide relief to consumers, especially in light of the ongoing increases in petroleum product prices.

“It is about time that we trigger the use of the fund in the reverse because there is no way crude prices will drop anytime soon especially when our local currency is also not stable” he noted.

Despite projections by industry players like the Chamber for Petroleum Consumers Ghana of a price reduction for the second window of May, some Oil Marketing Companies have already begun adjusting prices at the pumps.