In a year that the world continued to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghanaians had to deal with other challenges like the high cost of fuel, which leads to high cost of living.
Even though Ghana produces oil, the West African country has very little bearing on the price of fuel. Currently, the three main factors that affect the pricing of fuel in Ghana are; world crude oil price, the weak nature of Ghana cedi (depreciation of the cedi) and the taxes imposed on petroleum products by government.
According to data from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), between January and November 2021, the price of fuel went up more than 12 times from GHS4.99 to GHS6.99.
This situation has led to many Ghanaians complaining and registering their displeasure to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of the day.
The high cost of fuel even led commercial drivers across the country to embark on a sit-down strike on Monday, December 6, 2021. The strike action by the commercial drivers was massive, especially in the capital, Accra. A lot of workers, school children and the public in general were seen stranded at the various bus terminals across the country.
The presidency had to intervene by inviting leaders of the commercial drivers before the group called off or suspended the strike midday on Monday.
The NPP government like many other past government made a promise to keep fuel prices low in the build up to the 2016 elections.
For the purpose of this article, Pulse.com.gh will use data or prices from the GOIL Company Limited (GOIL).
Below is an infographic of the price change in fuel (petrol and diesel) since January: