OYV advises Govt on fuel prices
GOVERNMENT should reciprocate when the cost of crude oil falls on the international market by reducing fuel prices, says Operation Young Vote (OYV) executive director Guess Nyirenda.
Mr Nyirenda said in a statement to the Daily Nation that whenever the price of crude oil on the international market spiraled, the fuel price in Zambia escalated and yet the situation was never the same when the cost of crude oil fell.
Mr Nyirenda wondered why Government burdened citizens with high fuel prices even when the price of crude oil on the international market had reduced. Government, he added, should respond by reducing the pump price.
“Where then are these funds and how are they being used. OYV therefore demands that Government reduces the cost of fuel without delay as this will allow many players on the economic scene and also resuscitate many businesses that could have folded up,” he said.
He said responding to reduced crude oil prices on the international market would entail Government being real and practical about good governance, empowerment of young people and women as espoused in the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP)
Mr Nyirenda said that it was sad that Zambians had for a very long time been subjected to hardships as a result of the trickledown effects due to high fuel pump price in the country.
“Since the hike (especially the recent one) in the fuel pump price was attributed to the high cost of crude oil on the international market, it is just not only fair and responsible but also a mark of good and servant leadership for the government to be empathetic for its citizens and allow them benefit from the reduced prices,” he said.
He said that it was common knowledge that due to high cost of fuel pump price, the cost of doing business such as the cost of production, transportation, among others and lead to reduced profits and losses at some point.
This also leads to companies downsizing their workforces, a situation that leads to high unemployment levels, said Mr Nyirenda.