John Abdulai Jinapor, the Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, has noted has accused the government of inappropriately implementing the gold-for-oil policy.
This, he said, has caused financial loss to the state, leading to the hikes in petroleum prices.
The former Deputy Minister of Energy’s comment comes on the back of the recent increment in the prices of fuel.
During a media engagement in Accra, the legislator called the Vice President out to fix the rising cost of fuel rather than focusing his attention on a debate.
He has asked Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President, flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party and Head of the Economic Management Team to tackle the depreciating cedi to mitigate the high cost of fuel.
With the gold-for-oil policy intended to stabilise the cedi to some extent, the lawmaker says he can’t fathom why the initiative has not impacted the economy in any way.
“The managers of the economy have to sit up. And clearly, the Bank of Ghana is losing it. While the Bank of Ghana is spending millions of Cedis and dollars on the gold-for-oil programme, the currency is not stabilising.
“The Cedi is depreciating, fuel prices are going up, cost of living is going up, and everybody is suffering. But worst of all, wages and salaries are stagnating. Wages and salaries are not going up. The managers of the economy have lost it.
“And I think that Dr. Bawumia, instead of calling for a debate, should rather spend some time concentrating on managing the economy. He should stop the unnecessary call for a debate, do his work as the head of the economic management team and ensure that we deal with the ever-rising cost of fuel,” he stated.
Cedi depreciation would have been worse if not for ‘Gold for Oil’ policy – Joe Jackson
