For many years, a slight slip in the cedi or a shock in global crude markets causes changes in prices of fuel at the pumps in Ghana, but the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, says this era must end.
The situation means that for every two weeks, petroleum consumers must hold their breath, awaiting what will become of the prices at the pumps.
This cycle of “price-taking” has defined Ghana’s petroleum market. This means consumers pay whatever the international market dictates, with little room for cushioning.
“We wait and obey the wind,” he lamented. “Whatever happens, we pass it on to our people. Whatever adjustment with the local currency, we pass the effect. Whatever taxes the government slaps, we pass them. That era has got to come to an end,” Duncan Amoah lamented.
Ghana’s Missing Cushion
At the heart of Amoah’s call is the absence of strategic fuel reserves. Unlike some countries that stockpile petroleum products to smooth price shocks, Ghana, he notes, does not have “a single litre of cushioning.”
This, he argues, is dangerous in an unpredictable global environment where wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, or tensions in energy-producing countries like Qatar, can send crude oil prices spiraling overnight.
With no reserves, Ghanaians are left exposed to every shock in the global market.
The Case for Strategic Storage
Amoah believes Ghana has the capacity and responsibility to do better. He argues that building adequate storage facilities and maintaining strategic stocks would allow the country to stabilize pump prices when global or domestic shocks hit.
According to the Executive Secretary of COPEC, if able to store enough, when prices look upwards, it can always fall on the stocks to cushion prices for consumers.
“You don’t know exactly what will happen tomorrow as far as the international market space is concerned,” he cautioned.
He envisions a model where both government and private depots contribute to a national stockpile, replenished when prices are low and drawn upon when prices rise. Such a system, he argues, would protect consumers, stabilize inflation, and provide businesses with predictability.
A Forward-Looking Strategy
Ghana’s reliance on pass-through pricing has left transport operators, businesses, and households vulnerable. Every price hike cascades into higher fares, rising food costs, and squeezed incomes.
The strategic reserves, Duncan Amoah is convinced, if properly managed, could shift the narrative. Countries like India and members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) maintain such buffers not just for national security but also for economic stability. Ghana, Amoah insists, must adopt a similar approach.
For him, the global uncertainty is here to stay, and Ghana cannot continue to be reactive. The cedi will face future pressures; oil markets will remain volatile. The only certainty, Amoah says, should be that the country has planned ahead for its people.
