Price drop on fuel – proof of reactions
Surveys conducted by this paper to sample the views of citizens on the announcement made by President Ernest Bai Koroma on the night of Friday, May 27 this year instructing a reduction in fuel price and a ten percent tax cut on rice, have indicated that while all Sierra Leoneans are generally happy, there are many who have expressed skepticism and prefer to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.
Firstly, the people said they were happy that at least the Government had listened to their cries and effected the reductions in order to alleviate their sufferings.
They however cautioned that Government officials should scrupulously monitor the prices of basic commodities and ensure that they conform to the new pricing index.
They even suggested that the Trade Ministry should introduce a uniform pricing system and those defaulting in such an arrangement should be punished according to law.
This school is of the opinion that no matter the good intentions of Government, there are always unscrupulous business people and government officials who want to sabotage such intentions and perpetuate suffering on the people.
A senior economist who prefers not to be named has however noted that in as much as the intention of government is good, one has to be mindful of the rise in the value of the US dollar which is an international monetary determinant, which, he stated, would eventually affect the price of commodities.
He suggested that in order for the reductions to continue to hold, government should put emphasis on enhancing the country’s produce, mining, production and industrial sectors to increase our export capacity thereby earning a lot of foreign exchange for the country and balancing its trade in the international arena. This, he stressed, will be the only way to raise the value of our money, the Leone.
He also opined that some projects like the massive road reconstructions now going on all over the country need to be scaled down and spaced out over long periods while most of the money should be expended in servicing the essential sectors of health, agriculture, education, industry, and fisheries.
He further opined that government should also consider revisiting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and make some cuts to reflect on the incomes of workers in the country.
He concluded that it was disheartening that most of the government officials and professionals who usually negotiate with international financial institutions like the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund are either not well grounded to present the country’s case in a realistic manner or they have inferiority complexes and just go along with the dictates of such organizations even when they do not understand the realities on the ground thereby almost always accepting bad conditions for us.
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