No Money To Finance Crude Oil Purchase

The government is having difficulty mobilizing enough money to finance crude oil imports and the indications are that the price of petroleum products will soon shoot up. Minutes of a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Kufuor and held on May 9, 2002 confirm that crude oil imports have become a major headache for the government The problem has become so acute that Sahara Energy Resource Ltd, the company which has been lifting oil from Nigeria, has been paid on at least one occasion with a promissory note. President Kufuor has ordered an investigation into the inability of the Tema Oil Refinery to find the money to fund crude oil imports. It is not clear whether the investigation has been completed but the Minister of Finance, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, has sent out strong indications that the government may opt for fuel price increases.