No Gas, As Mass Starvation Looms in Lockdown – Traders Hike Food Prices 200%

Residents in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Obuasi are facing imminent starvation as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has mysteriously run out in many outlets following the government’s announcement of lockdown in these cities.

A drive through Accra, Kumasi and Tema by Whatsup News revealed long queues at LPG outlets as customers became increasingly agitated due to the apparent shortage of gas.

It is unclear if LPG is genuinely in short supply due to the panic buying or outlets are deliberately hoarding the commodity to cash in in the widespread profiteering sparked by President Akufo Addo’s Friday night announcement of a Covid-19 lockdown starting from Monday, March 30, 2020.

Already, traders of food items have slapped over 200% increases on their products. For instance, the most common staple food in Ghana-Gari has seen outrageous price hikes.

Before the lockdown announcement, Gari was selling for about GHC 8.00 per standard measuring container. Immediately after the announcement, prices went through the roof up to GHC 20 and GHC 60.

Other essential items such as disinfectants, hand sanitisers, among others have also seen similar unbridled profiteering from traders.

The Akufo Addo administration has looked on helplessly as these trade sharks fleece consumers caught in desperate times.

The situation has forced a group of 400 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country to warn the Akufo Addo administration to enforce strict price controls on essential commodities to prevent a social backlash amidst the Covid-19 lockdown decree.

In a set to be released on Monday, March 30, 2020, the CSOs urged the government to enforce “strict price controls on essential commodities and staple foods to prevent the unscrupulous practice of price gouging we saw in the markets in the past few weeks.”

The Organisations also called for the subsidization of essential basic and social services by freezing or reducing tariffs on access to water, electricity, and communication for all citizens.

The group also wants the government to “ensure that all expenditures are applied in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner to ensure respective interventions reach the targeted beneficiaries.”

“This is very critical since the government did not begin its financial year with a budget line for COVID-19, as such every inflow and expenditure towards the crisis must be duly accounted for in a transparent manner,” the statement added.