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| Togbe Afede and officials of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). |
Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, has
urged the government to take strong efforts to encourage indigenous ownership
of critical enterprises in order to improve the economy.
He mentioned some of the businesses that were
dominated by foreigners, such as those in the banking, telecommunications, and
oil sectors, and said that the massive movement of funds outside the country by
those businesses for the payment of dividends ate up almost all of the profit
from their trading activities in the country.
He said that Ghana was now in a "double peril"
because of rising gasoline costs and the continuing depreciation of the local
currency.
"Unfortunately, Ghana is the only nation I'm
aware of where prices, including the value of the US dollar, rise and never
fall," the Agbogbomefia remarked.
When members of the National Petroleum Authority
(NPA) Board paid him a courtesy visit at his palace in Ho last Friday, he made
the call.
Gigantic task
The NPA Board met with Togbe Afede behind closed
doors, led by its Chairman, Joe Addo-Yobo.
The meeting was part of the NPA's attempts to
conduct conversations with all stakeholders in each of the 16 areas about
matters of mutual interest.
Diana Megre, Bernard Owusu, Manuel Sawyerr, and
Kwami Sefa Kayi were among the NPA delegation's board members.
Prior to the meeting, the Agbogbomefia welcomed
the group and said that the government now faced a massive problem in making
gasoline costs reasonable to customers, which would need bold and urgent
initiatives.
Interest rates
Togbe Afede also stressed the need of lowering
interest rates on bank loans to help local firms and support the economy's fast
expansion.
“We need low, stable inflation and not high,
stable inflation,” he stressed.
Price situation
Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the NPA's Chief
Executive, said the meeting was held to seek the wisdom of the country's
"guardians of the land" in dealing with the country's present
gasoline pricing crisis.
"Togbe Afede has a wealth of expertise in the
energy sector, which includes the petroleum business, making him a great asset
to the country," he added.
Dr Abdul-Hamid said that Ghana was not immune to
the global petroleum crisis, and that the NPA was in serious talks with the
ministries of finance and energy, economic planners, and other stakeholders to
develop suitable methods to reverse the trend as quickly as feasible.
Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk
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