The price of diesel has shot up to GHS23.49 per litre, according to the latest prices advertised by TotalEnergies at the pumps.
Petrol is selling at GHS17.99 per
litre.
Kerosene is going for GHS14.70.
The new prices take effect from today,
Tuesday, 1 November 2022.
On Sunday, 30 October 20220, President
Nana Akufo-Addo said his administration is working on bring affordable
petroleum to the country to stem the tide of fuel price hikes at the pumps,
which, in turn, impacts the prices of almost every commercial activity.
“I know that the increasing cost of
living is the number one concern for all of us. It is driven by fast-escalating
fuel prices at the pumps, which is caused by high crude oil prices on the world
market and our depreciated currency. I know that this is putting intolerable
pressure on families and businesses. I know that people are being driven to
make choices they should not have to make, and I know that it has led to the
devaluation of capital of traders and painfully accumulated savings”, he told
Ghanaians in a national address on Sunday night (30 October 2022).
As part of the mitigation measures,
the president announced that “the government is working to secure reliable and
regular sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market”.
“It is expected that this arrangement,
when successful, coupled with a stable currency will halt the escalation of
fuel prices and bring relief to us all”, he noted.
Read the president’s full speech
below:
ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY THE PRESIDENT
OF THE REPUBLIC, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, ON THE ECONOMY, ON SUNDAY, 30TH
OCTOBER 2022.
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening.
Back in 2020, at the outbreak of the
Coronavirus pandemic, I started a regular conversation with you that came to be
popularly known as Fellow Ghanaians.
It was a time of great fear of the
unknown, and the entire world felt at risk. I came into your homes regularly to
tell you what the experts were discovering about the virus, and what we should
do.
Now that we have seen the worst of the
COVID-19, I can tell you that there were moments during those times when I was
distraught, there were moments when I was in despair about the apparent
inadequacy of our health facilities, and there were moments when I wondered if
the dire predictions made about dead bodies on our streets would truly happen.
But I knew that I owed it to all of us
that, as your president, I had to hold my nerve, show leadership and take us
out of the crisis. With your help and support, and the great mercies of the
Almighty, we can say that we emerged from the ravages of the pandemic with one
of the lowest mortality rates globally. In fact, Ghana’s handling of the
pandemic won universal acclaim.
We could all see in real time the
devastation that was being wreaked on economies during the pandemic, but I
doubt that anyone imagined the extent of the damage. Our economy, here in
Ghana, like many, many others around the globe, was thrown into turmoil.
When I said, at the height of the
COVID pandemic, that we knew what to do to bring the economy back to life, but
not how to bring people back to life, it was not said in jest. We had done it
before, and we were on course to doing it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a
remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth
recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in the last
quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian
invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects
of COVID-19, and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which
it has not yet recovered.
The whole world has been taken aback
by the speed with which inflation has eaten away people’s incomes. Economies,
big and small, have experienced, over this year alone, the highest rise in cost
of living over a generation; the highest rise in government borrowing in over
fifty (50) years; the highest rise in inflation for forty (40) years; the
steepest depreciation in their currencies to the US dollar over the last thirty
(30) years; the fastest peak in interest rates for over twenty (20) years; and
the greatest threat of unemployment in peace time; with over a hundred million
people being pushed into extreme poverty.
Between the end of 2019 and now,
inflation in Ghana has increased by five-fold, in Togo by sixteen-fold, by
eleven-fold in Senegal, and by seven-fold in Cote d’Ivoire. In truth, however,
the fact that there are petrol queues in France does not make it more tolerable
that the trotro price from Kasoa to Circle has doubled in the past one year,
nor does it make it any more tolerable that the price of cooking oil goes up
every other week.
It is important to state that
mentioning the increases in prices worldwide is not meant to belittle the scope
of suffering here, but simply to help us put things into some perspective, and,
hopefully, learn some useful lessons about how other people are coping.
Fellow Ghanaians, this is why I am
back in your homes this evening to ask for your support, as we work together to
get our economy back into good shape.
In April, after the Cabinet retreat of
the first quarter, and recognising the deteriorating macro economy, my
government announced a thirty percent (30%) cut in budgeted discretionary
expenditures, and a thirty percent (30%) cut in salaries of the President, Vice
President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs and political office holders,
amongst other measures.
And, since July, when the Government
took the difficult decision to go to the IMF to seek support, I have been
speaking publicly at different fora on the subject of the economic difficulties
we face, especially during my recent tours, so far, of nine (9) regions, and
interacting directly with you, the Ghanaian people. It is also true that many
of you have felt the need for me to come back to the Fellow Ghanaians format
that brings us all together.
For us, in Ghana, our reality is that
our economy is in great difficulty. The budget drawn for the 2022 fiscal year
has been thrown out of gear, disrupting our balance of payments and debt
sustainability, and further exposing the structural weaknesses of our economy.
We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate
when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent
forces have come together at the same time. But, as we have shown in other
circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not
just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems
that have bedeviled our economy.
I urge us all to see the decision to
go to the International Monetary Fund in this light. We have gone to the
Fund to repair, in the short term, our public finances, and restore our balance
of payments, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural
changes that are at the heart of our goal of constructing a resilient, robust
Ghanaian economy, and building a Ghana Beyond Aid.
I am able to report to you, my fellow
Ghanaians, that the negotiations to secure a strong IMF Programme, which will
support the implementation of our Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth
and additional funding to support the 2023 Budget and development programme,
are at advanced stages, and are going well.
We are determined to secure these
arrangements quickly to bring back confidence and relief to Ghanaians. We are
working towards reaching a deal with the IMF by the end of the year. This will
give further credence to the measures the Government is taking to stabilise and
grow the economy, as well as shore up our currency.
I know that the increasing cost of
living is the number one concern for all of us. It is driven by fast-escalating
fuel prices at the pumps, which is caused by high crude oil prices on the world
market and our depreciated currency. I know that this is putting intolerable
pressure on families and businesses. I know that people are being driven to
make choices they should not have to make, and I know that it has led to the
devaluation of capital of traders and painfully accumulated savings.
Furthermore, Government is working to secure reliable and regular sources of
affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market. It is expected that this
arrangement, when successful, coupled with a stable currency will halt the
escalation of fuel prices and bring relief to us all.
I hear from the market queens also
that another factor fueling the high prices is the high margins that some
traders are slapping on goods, for fear of future higher costs. I say to our
traders, we are all in this together. Please let us be measured in the margins
we seek. I have great respect and admiration for the ingenuity and hard work of
our traders, especially those that take on the distribution of foodstuffs
around the country, and I would hesitate to join in calling them names. I do
make a heartfelt appeal that we all keep an eye out for the greater good, and
not try to make the utmost profits out of the current difficulties.
In language that every market woman
and, indeed, every trader in our country understands, let me say that the basic
problem we face is that we are not making as much money as we need to spend,
and what little money we do make is going to pay for the debts we have contracted
to fund the development projects we must have. Not enough of us are paying our
taxes, not enough of us are producing to generate the revenues that we need.
Nevertheless, my ambitions for Ghana
remain high. All our children should be educated and trained with skills that
will enable us be competitive in the world. We need to close rapidly the
infrastructure gap, we need to build a world-class healthcare system, and we
need to build confidence in ourselves to make ours the happy and prosperous
place it deserves to be.
I believe we can and we will find the
means to achieve these goals, even if the immediate measures we have to take
are painful.
At the just ended Cabinet Retreat at
Peduase Lodge, my government agreed on the framework for the Post COVID-19
Programme for Economic Growth and the IMF support for its implementation, as
well as the work being done by the Ministry of Finance in preparation for the
2023 budget. At the Cabinet Retreat, we took some firm decisions that should
put us on the path that will take our nation out of the current economic
difficulties. Let me try and give you an outline of the main decisions without
getting into the technical language that baffles many of us.
To restore and sustain debt
sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt to GDP ratio to some
fifty-five percent (55%) in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of
our external debt pegged at not more than eighteen percent (18%) of our annual
revenue also by 2028.
We are committed to improving the
revenue collection effort, from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of
thirteen (13%) to between eighteen and twenty percent (18-20%), to be
competitive with our peers in the West Africa Region. The GRA is rolling out an
extensive set of measures to support this enhanced revenue mobilisation. All of
us must do our patriotic duty, and support the GRA in this exercise.
We are aiming to restore and sustain
macroeconomic stability within the next three (3) to six (6) years, with a
focus on ensuring debt sustainability to promote durable and inclusive growth
while protecting the poor.
We have decided to review the reforms
in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the
exemptions Act and a new property rate regime. We have decided also to continue
with the policy of thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of political office
holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers,
MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023, just as we will continue with the thirty
percent (30%) cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and
Agencies.
My fellow Ghanaians, the success of
our efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an
import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term,
help strengthen our economy. We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our
current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to
discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here.
To this end, we will review the
standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as
well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to
imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, tooth picks, pasta,
fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with
intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be
manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will,
in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as
a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods,
and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating
a Ghana Beyond Aid.
Much as we believe in free trade, we
must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and market places
are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our
farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the
1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and
allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products, and guarantee
a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens
and the business community. Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra,
after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental
Free Trade Area.
Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would
say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ
dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you
will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow
some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.
The recent turbulence on the financial
markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in
the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators
and the Black Market. An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp
platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into
banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had
depreciated further. All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the
cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us
keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of
publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that
the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.
Indeed, some steps have been taken to
restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some
calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The
following actions have been taken thus far:
Enhanced supervisory action by the
Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out
illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally
abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses
revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in
the sector;
Fresh inflows of dollars are providing
liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand;
the Bank of Ghana has given its full
commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of
the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme
kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come
in;
Government is working with the Bank of
Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and
regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations
in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the
domestic foreign exchange market; and the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold
purchase programme.
I am confident that these immediate
measures designed to change the structure of our balance of payment flows,
sanitise the foreign exchange market to ensure that the banks and forex bureaus
operate along international best practices, together with strengthened
supervision, will go a long way to sanitize our foreign exchange market, and
make it more resilient against external vulnerabilities going forward.
Over the course of this week, I have
held several fruitful engagements with the Trades Union Congress and Organised
Labour, the Ghana Employers’ Association, the Association of Ghana Industries,
the Ghana Association of Banks, the Private Enterprise Federation, the
Association of Forex Bureau Operators, the Association of Market Queens and
Women, all of whom represent important stakeholders of the Ghanaian economy.
They expressed their concerns and proposed solutions on how best to solve our
problems. I have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of these interest groups to
help Government address these challenges, and I intend to continue these
engagements with other groups.
I also want to assure all Ghanaians
that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in
Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of
our ongoing IMF negotiations. There will be no “haircuts”, so I urge all of you
to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up,
Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did
not lose their deposits.
Anuanom, menim sɛɛ asetenamu ayɛ din.
Nanso, ma obiaa empa aba, monkͻso enya gyidie ɛwͻ mabam mu. Nhyehyɛ yɛ aa ɛtumi
maa Free SHS ɛni 1-District-1-Factory ɛbaa mu nu; nhyehyɛ yɛ aa ɛboaa ma yetumi
pam corona yariɛ no efri oman ni mu; saa ɛnso na maban ɛ toto niemayie saa
mereyi ama ahotͻ aba oman nimu, efri sɛɛ mewͻ gydie sɛɛ ɛko no yɛ Awurade
Nyankopͻn ni ko.
Anyɛmimɛi, mile akɛ nibii ewa, shi nyɛ
ka shia gbeye. Nyɛ yaanͻ ni nyɛ naa hemͻ kɛ yeli akɛ gbɛjianͻto ni hani free
SHS ba min, gbɛjia nͻto ni hani 1-District-1-Factory ba min, gbɛjianͻto ni hani
wͻ nyɛ wͻ shwe Corona hela kɛshi wͻ man nɛ min; nakai nͻͻ ni mi amlalo ba to gbɛjianͻ
koni hejͻlɛ aba maa min, ejaakɛ, miyɛ hemͻ kɛ yeli ak3, ta, Nyͻnmͻ ta lɛ ni.
My government has always been
cognisant of the importance of implementing policies and social interventions
to relieve Ghanaians of hardships. It is for this reason that over the first
five (5) years in office government reduced electricity tariffs cumulatively by
10.9%, we provided free water and electricity as well as reduced tariffs for
the entire population during a whole year of the COVID-19 pandemic; we
increased the share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to persons with
disabilities by 50%; we exempted Kayayei from market tolls; we expanded the
LEAP by one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) beneficiaries; we expanded
School Feeding from 1.6 million children to 2.1 million children; we restored
teacher and nursing training allowances; we absorbed the cost of BECE and
WASSCE exam registrations for parents; no guarantor is now required to obtain
student loans. The Ghanacard is sufficient; and we have implemented free TVET
as well as free senior high school education.
It is obvious, fellow Ghanaians, that
you have a government that cares. We are determined to restore stability to the
economy, and provide relief. We are all in this together, and I am asking for
your support to rescue Ghana from the throes of this economic crisis.
I have total confidence in our ability
to work our way out of our current difficulties. We are not afraid of hard
work. We will triumph, as we have triumphed many times before. Let us
unite, and rally around our Republic, its institutions and its democratic
values, and insist that, under God, we will emerge victorious from our current
difficulties. For this too shall pass, as the Battle is the Lord’s.
I will be coming regularly to keep you
updated about the measures your government is making to move our country
forward, and tackle our economic challenges.
God bless us all and our homeland
Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention, and
have a good evening.
Source: Classfmonline