By Abass Jalloh
Public transport drivers and commuters in Freetown have expressed concerns over the recent 20% increase in the pump price of petroleum products announced on Monday 28 February 2022 by the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA).
According to the PRA release, the price of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and other petroleum products was readjusted from Le 10,000 to Le 12,000 effective yesterday 1 March 2022.
Ibrahim Sankoh is one of the bus drivers and also Chairman of the Bus Drivers’ Union. He plies between Wellington and Regent Road in Freetown. He told Politico that the increment in fuel had affected their work “greatly”.
In connection with the increment, part of the list of categories of transportation fares announced by the Ministry of Transport and Aviation shows that Wellington to Eastern Police is adjusted from one thousand eight hundred Leones (Le 1,800) to two thousand Leones (Le 2,000), something that Sankoh and other drivers are not pleased with saying it greatly affects them, because they did not increase the fares for that particular route when pump prices increased to Le10, 000.
“We may increase the price,” he added. “From today, if we do not see any good way [transportation fare increase], and for any disturbance, we will park our buses.”
Commuters plying from Jui to Wilberforce or Lumley routes have been expressing dissatisfaction over the way transportation fares are illegally being raised by the drivers and conductors. They say that even though the government has increased the price to four thousand five hundred Leone (Le 4,500), drivers have opted to increase the fares to five thousand Leones (Le 5,000).
Expressing frustration, Mohamed Bangura, a businessman who resides at Rokupa in the east part of Freetown was waiting for a vehicle when Politico approached him. He said that it had been difficult for him as he had to “even call his bike rider” to drop him to town to buy some goods.
Banguara said that the hike in price and the increment in transportation fare had affected his business. “If I might take my goods to town tomorrow, I will pay more. If you want to take a bike as an emergency, the price is high”, he said. Some of our sources fear the hike in the prices of fuel will have an effect on other commodity prices in the market.
The Executive Chairman of PRA, Brima Baluwa Koroma, said they have been able to determine the fuel price in advance and that they had to engage stakeholders including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Oil Marketing Companies.
Speaking on the price and sales, he clarified that the fuel stations should be selling at about fourteen thousand Leones (Le 14,000) to thirteen thousand Leones (Le 13,000) but for the intervention of the government that they are selling at twelve thousand Leones (Le 12,000). He said that they could not bring “harsh shock” to the people.
He said that in terms of using fuel, apart from Western Area, Kono District consumes the highest, followed by Moyamba. “Generally, we have moved to five hundred and three million liters [503,000,000] per annum; that is about 1.3 million liters per day consumption,” he added.
Commenting on what to expect in the near future, Koroma said he could not predict, adding that there is “no tendency that the fuel price would go down.”
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (02/03/22)
