The Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, is calling for the urgent passage of a Consumer Protection Bill to regulate pricing across key sectors of the economy, particularly transportation.
Mr. Amoah made this call while he was answering questions on the inconsistent and unfair pricing practices where transport operators increase fares quickly in response to rising fuel costs but often fail to reduce them when fuel prices decline.
Speaking onJo y FM’s Midday News, he said the pattern leaves the ordinary Ghanaian consumer at a disadvantage, as there are currently no legal mechanisms to compel service providers to adjust prices downward when economic conditions improve.
“I think that the way forward should be Parliament passing the Consumer Protection Bill to ensure that the Ghanaian consumer has some rights codified by law. Unfortunately, we do not have that. So even in times when prices should have declined, what you get is excuses and foot-dragging by some of the service providers.
And I think that Parliament should take a serious view of this and ensure that some of these things are put in law so that when the time comes and the indicators, as we all can calculate, point to a situation where prices should decline, we should not have a situation where service providers can unilaterally say they are not going to go down on prices,” he stated.
Mr. Amoah noted that while transport operators—including major players like VIP—face genuine operational challenges such as poor road infrastructure, rising maintenance costs, and fluctuating fuel prices, these factors should not justify a lack of balance in fare adjustments.
He stressed that the absence of a Consumer Protection Law has created room for discretionary pricing, where service providers are not held accountable for delays in reducing costs.
The COPEC Executive Director argued that passing the bill would establish clear guidelines for pricing, ensure transparency, and protect consumers from being exploited during periods of economic fluctuation.
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Source:
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