GOVERNMENT HAS spent GH¢264.8 million as subsidies on premix fuel to cushion fishermen across the country in 2022.
This brings the total subsidies on premix fuel since 2014 to GH¢1.4 billion (GH¢1,469,355,332), a period of nine years.
The premix fuel subsidy is defined as the difference between the price per litre of fuel paid by the artisanal fishers and the actual price they should have paid for the fuel.
Subsidies given directly to Ghana’s marine artisanal fisheries have been identified as capacity-enhancing subsidies.
Data from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) shows that the full pass through price for 2022 varied for various price windows throughout the year.
In the same vein, the percentage of subsidies also varied for each pricing window rising as high as over 80 per cent within some windows.
The total subsidies for year 2022 therefore amounted to GH¢264.8 million, the price of premix fuel in 2023 is GH¢5.8554 per litre.
This price is 50 per cent subsidised and capped at 50 per cent.
The price of premix fuel was kept at GH¢1.57 per litre throughout eight years and the subsidies ranged from the lowest of 28 per cent in 2015 to the highest of 69 per cent in 2021.
For 2021, the actual price of a litre of premix fuel rose to GH¢5.07, resulting in 69 per cent subsidy amounting to GH¢330.8 million.
The drop in the actual price led to a corresponding decrease in the subsidies to 55 per cent which amounted to GH¢172.8 million.
The NPA, in collaboration with the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), has constructed six prototypes of standard premix retail outlets at six landing beaches across the country.
The outlets being operated by GOIL are located at Shama Adjoa in the Western Region, Ga Mashie in the Greater Accra Region, Komenda, Apam-Munford and Winneba, all in the Central Region, and Dzemeni in the Volta Region.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri