Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi, has blamed the drift towards green energy as one of the factors contributing to fuel price hikes in parts of the world.
According to him, countries that produce fossil fuels are creating a shortage in the supply of the product in order to have prices increased and to profit before the eventual ban of same in 2035.
In an interview on Accra-based Citi TV on August 23, Senyo Hosi observed that the fuel price hikes were to be expected even before the Russia-Ukraine war began.
"The people who are producing oil…when people started discussing ban of fossil fuels by 2030-2035…which year are we in? [2022]. This is a little over 10 years away. So if you have these products [fossil fuel] and you realize supply is tightening up or demand is there, won't you tighten your supply to make sure you collect more of your money today before you die?
"It's a survival mechanism. So OPEC kept meeting, and nobody wanted to increase supply because if they increase supply, prices will come down, and the day green [energy] goes out, nobody will think about them. They are just acting as rational as any of us will do, so this thing was already destined to be going this way. Russia brought itself, and speculators have also leveraged that to also push it even further. But occasionally you have some Covid shocks then things come down, recession shocks then things will come down," he said.
Senyo Hosi added that governments have failed to heed his advice on investing in a mass transportation system for the country.
In his view, a mass transportation system would have provided a cushion for citizens whenever there was a spike in the prices of fuel products. He also bemoaned how myopic people at the helm of affairs were contributing to the country's failings.
"I don't think it's a matter of crying. It is about us being practical. What government should have done, and I said this in 2013, 2014…[practically almost every year I keep saying it. When we were going to deregulate, I said, government let's invest in mass transportation because taking off subsidies was going to create a lot more fiscal space for you. If you use that space and invest in mass transportation, when prices skyrocket, you have a cushioning mechanism. People can park their cars, sit in a train," he argued.
"We are so myopic in our economic policy-making and management. It is very heartbreaking because the things that are supposed to get us out of where we are are very evident, but the discipline amidst the political economy…we have just not found ourselves the right kind of committed policymakers and leadership to really transform this economy. We know everything and do nothing," he said.
The economic policy analyst disclosed that under the current times of fuel price hikes, he has had to sometime drive in free gear mode in order to manage.
"Under my circumstances, I prefer to drive my smaller car at home. When I drive my Nissan Patrol, the first thing I do is press the eco button. When I'm going small, me te free [I put it in free gear to keep going]. I just take my leg off because I have to manage myself. If I had options, I'd be happy to move commercially," Senyo Hosi said.
There have been fuel price hikes in recent times, with some pump stations selling products such as petrol and diesel between GH₵10 and GH₵11.
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Former CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi