The Director of Public Affairs at the National Petroleum Authority, Yaro Kasangbata has launched a scathing attack on members of the media profession and accused them of bias against activities of the authority.
This follows what he describes as a lack of interest by his former media colleagues when fuel prices are reduced only choosing to highlight the increases.
The National Petroleum Authority, the country’s regulating agency which sanctions periodic increases or decreases in the prices of petroleum products has in recent times come under a barrage of criticism due to its refusal to slash its prices even though the international market has in recent times been witnessing a reversal of the increasing trend.
However Mr Kasangbata believes the media isn’t playing fair to the Authority as it chooses to give media prominence to only increases.
“In October last year alone, in one month, petrol price reduced by 6% and I had to call editors and remind them to give us publicity and nobody listened to us. When we do this all the time I get the sense that the journalist likes what sensationalizes the atmosphere and not what would calm nerves and give people comfort,” he told Live News’ Ekow Annan.
He also added that “If the thing has being reduced, that would be no news but if it goes up they knock on our doors at 5am in the morning to say that we hear that it’s going to go up not that it’s gone up and even when speculation is going to reduce nobody even talks about it.”
Mr Kasangbata, a former News Anchor at Metro TV further noted that “we are not taking the media on, I think it’s one of the rights of the media to give prominence to what subject that they deem fit but in the process the media has to be fair. And if the issue is the same matter we are discussing if the prices go up give it much publicity but when it comes down let the consumer know that it has come down it builds confidence in the system.”
Meanwhile,
The NPA has reduced fuel prices by 2%.
This is according to a statement issued by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), which said the reduction is in accordance with reduction in the prices of crude oil and petroleum products on the world market.
The reduction which takes effect from Tuesday October 21, 2014, is in sharp contrast to an indication but Minister of Energy, Emanuel Armah Kofi Buah, that it wouldn’t be able to reduce fuel prices in the country despite its falling price on the international market.
