NDC opposed to fuel price increases

Accra, May 27, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday said it was opposed to any increase in fuel prices since that would negatively affect the citizens and raise the cost of production.

It said: "NDC is genuinely committed to the social democratic philosophy of state intervention to ameliorate the hardships of ordinary people."

Dr Josiah Aryeh, NDC General Secretary was stating the policy of the Party in reaction to two private Accra daily newspapers reports on Tuesday May 25, 2004 that one Mr Osei Assibey, Ashanti Regional First Vice Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had claimed that the NDC was "insisting that the Government should increase the price of fuel to match the rising price of crude oil in the world market".

The NDC said that the claim attributed to it was not correct and that the publication was the NPP's attempt to rope in the media to amplify the issue to suit its propaganda scheme.

It expressed regret that the report of the alleged NDC stance was not attributed to any NDC functionary adding that it was wrong for leading members of the ruling Party to mount platforms and make baseless claims against opposition parties.

The NDC said it was wrong for party activists to act as "demolition men, who would first concoct false claims and attach it to the NDC", stressing, "any attempt to use the NDC as a whipping boy over the Government's inability to implement a fuel policy would fail".

The NDC said it would never be party to attempts to impose excessive fuel prices on Ghanaians.