UPP Leader says price hikes in fuel will create a ‘significant bump’ in residents’ expenditure

The United Progressive Party (UPP) Leader is again chastising the Gaston Browne Administration for passing on the increase in fuel prices to consumers.

Harold Lovell, who says he is not seeking to politicize the issue, describes today’s fuel hike as another “Reaping the Bitter Fruits of Bad Policies” that has characterized the Browne government.

Lovell also took issue with the fact that Browne announced the price hikes on his affiliated radio station on Saturday, June 11, and not via State media.

Effective Monday, June 13, gas prices increased from $15.15 to $17.50 per gallon and the price of diesel to $17.25 from $15.23 per gallon.

Because other Caribbean islands and countries further afield have increased their fuel prices, it is not an excuse to do so here, Lovell contends. And he says the pass-through mechanism is one pricing policy that has not been managed properly.

Lovell says the price of fuel has moved by 40 percent since the start of the war between Russia and The Ukraine.

He says the impact of the increase on the citizens and residents is not reasonable, but is unconscionable and not a situation that people can live with, given the “significant bump” in persons’ expenditure.

The Political Leader notes that the UPP Administration had cushioned a previous fuel increase during the World Economic Crisis.

Further, Lovell does not see the continued subsidy of cooking gas as particularly significant since, according to him, this has historically been the case.