Ghana needs to fundamentally rethink its transportation system by prioritising mass public transport, alternative mobility and more efficient road design as international fuel shocks continue to expose the vulnerability of a petroleum-dependent transport economy.
This is the proposal of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Dr Patrick Kwaku Ofori. The energy industry player’s comments come amid renewed increases in Ghana’s fuel prices following disruptions in global oil and refined-product markets caused by geopolitical tensions.
New fuel prices took effect from September 16, with the latest adjustments reflecting continued pressure from international petroleum markets.
Amid these persistent fuel price pressures, Dr. Patrick Ofori argues that the response should extend beyond debating pump prices or adjusting transport fares whenever fuel becomes expensive. He believes Ghana needs to rethink the underlying structure of transportation itself.
“I would be much more interested in a discussion that talks about having a sustainable means of alternative fuel, research into ethanol, other biofuels, and having a diverse energy mix,” he noted in an interview monitored by The High Street Journal.
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But his proposal does not stop at alternative fuels. He wants the country to reduce the amount of pressure placed on petroleum by changing how people move around cities and between communities.
Dr Ofori called for policy initiatives capable of attracting investment into mass transportation, arguing that stronger public transport systems could reduce the burden of rising fuel costs on households.
“Then also the investment in other alternative sources of transport, whereby the bus or the public transport system are given policy initiatives that attract mass transportation that will also ease the pressure and the burden on our brothers and sisters who use those public transport,” he said.
A stronger public transport system, he believes, could provide a structural response to the problem rather than leaving individual commuters and commercial drivers to absorb every international fuel-price shock.
Dr Ofori also wants Ghana to broaden the way it thinks about road infrastructure. He wants the country’s road designs to be bicycle and motorcycle-friendly. This, he argues, will bring another dimension to the fuel-security debate since it could reduce energy demand through urban and transport planning.
For him, if roads and cities are designed to accommodate buses, bicycles, motorcycles and other forms of mobility alongside conventional vehicles, commuters could have more options when petroleum prices rise.
Such an approach would also connect energy policy with urban planning, public health, congestion management and household expenditure.
Dr Ofori’s broader argument is that Ghana’s recurring fuel-price crises should become a catalyst for structural reform rather than another round of short-term political and policy interventions.
