The GOIL Company Limited (GOIL) has announced its withdrawal from the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) following allegations by the leadership of the association that the government influenced the company to reduce the price of its petroleum products.
In a statement on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, the company sharply criticized the AOMCs for peddling such a claim against it and described it as “gross disrespect.”
“We at GOIL believe that the Association has shown gross disrespect to the company and treated it with contempt and public ridicule and has therefore decided to suspend its membership of the Association immediately,” GOIL said in its statement.
On December 7, 2021, GOIL, reduced the price of fuel by 15 pesewas at its pumps following public outcry about the high cost of fuel in the country.
The reduction happened barely 24 hours after some commercial drivers in the country embarked on a sit-down to demand that the government remove some taxes on fuel to bring down the price of the product.
Prior to GOIL’s announcement, President Akufo-Addo held a crunch meeting with the leadership of commercial public transport operators over their complaints about the cost of fuel.
The development sparked the comments by the AOMCs which gave indications that GOIL, whose majority shareholders are state agencies, took the decision due to the influence of the government.
“GOIL is therefore challenging the Association to provide proof other than the unproven media claims that the company was directed to reduce prices. GOIL also finds it strange and unacceptable that the chairman of AOMC did not find it fit to seek GOIL’s position before coming out with the well-circulated statement, even when the association had advertised for a Board meeting to discuss the same issues and GOI:’s group CEO/MD had earlier spoken to the CEO of AOMC.”
“The allegations that government is interference in the industry is unfounded and baseless. GOIL has the right as any other OMC to determine its prices,” GOIL said in its statement.
