The Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame, John Darko, has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of contradicting its own position in opposition by now asking Ghanaians to accept the impact of global factors on fuel prices, a logic the party previously dismissed with scorn.
Darko made the remarks on Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, April 18, while reacting to the government’s announcement of temporary fuel price relief amid the Middle East conflict.
“It’s amazing that the time has changed; the way the NDC in opposition behaved, they behaved as if Ghana were an island and nothing outside Ghana affects us,” he said, pointing out that President John Dramani Mahama once argued the distance between Ghana and the Ukraine war rendered it irrelevant to domestic prices, yet now expects citizens to extend understanding over the Iran conflict’s effect on fuel costs.
While expressing cautious hope that the intervention would bring some relief, Darko said Ghanaians are still paying elevated electricity and water bills and remain burdened by high petroleum prices. He linked the ongoing galamsey problem, which he said the president has not moved decisively to address, to the sustained pressure on utility costs.
Also featured on the programme, former MP for Asante Akim North, Andy Kwame Appiah Kubi, took a more measured position, calling for a nonpartisan approach to the fuel pricing debate. He acknowledged that global market forces inevitably affect local economies and welcomed the fact that opposition voices were engaging the issue constructively rather than dismissing it outright.
Defending the government’s position, Head of Communications at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Richmond Rockson, said the intervention proves that President Mahama places the welfare of Ghanaians at the centre of economic decision-making. He stressed that fuel prices would have climbed further had government not acted.
Rockson disclosed that the combined effect of the reduced margins works out to approximately GH¢2.30 per litre across the board, with the total revenue foregone by government estimated at a minimum of GH¢200 million per pricing window, a figure he said could exceed that once detailed calculations are finalised.
The government announced on April 15 that it would absorb GH¢2.00 per litre on diesel and GH¢0.36 per litre on petrol effective April 16, describing the Cabinet-approved measure as a one-month cushion for households, transport operators, and businesses facing the impact of global oil price surges.
