Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gaming Commission, Lawyer Lamtiig Abugri Apanga, has argued that fuel prices should not be allowed to fall below a regulated benchmark, warning that unchecked price competition could drive smaller players out of the industry and eventually hurt consumers.
According to him, while Ghana’s fuel pricing regime is largely deregulated, some level of state regulation remains necessary to prevent market dominance by major industry players.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Tuesday, January 20, and monitored by NewsDesksGH, Lawyer Apanga explained that governments control over fuel prices has historically been limited due to external market forces.
“At a point, government did not have entire control over fuel pricing because there are external factors that affect fuel pricing. So, over time there was the need to deregularise and allow the market forced to determine the price,” he said.
However, he cautioned against a completely free market in the petroleum sector, and stressed the importance of regulatory oversight.
“But of course we can’t have an absolute deregularised industry. We’d have some amount of regulation, because what’s the use of NPA without regulations?” he questioned.
Lawyer Apanga argued that pricing fuel below a certain threshold could weaken competition rather than strengthen it, especially for smaller operators.
“To ensure that nobody prices the fuel below a certain benchmark so that at least we can protect the small players. If we don’t protect the small players, over time the big players will take charge and will have some sort of a monopoly,” he stated.
He acknowledged that ordinary consumers may initially welcome price reductions, believing that full market competition should be allowed to play out.
However, he warned that such short-term gains could result in long-term challenges if the structure of the industry is undermined.
“What will happen in the long run if we’re not careful in protecting the industry, ensuring steady supply, ensuring availability of fuel, we’d have a situation where the big players will kick after the small players and over time, control the system. They can hoard, increase prices, determine when it’s available,” he cautioned.
According to Lawyer Apanga, regulatory safeguards are ultimately designed to serve the interests of consumers.
“The mechanism in the long run is protecting the consumer,” he noted.
