Monday, July 21, 2008
However skeptical one sees the move, the government of Ivory Coast is not just seeking cheap popularity (even as general elections beckon). Indicative of a truly representative steward, the Ivorian Prime Minister has taken a major step by cutting down salaries of his ministers to help pay for the 10 % subsidy on fuel prices in the country.
Captains of state-owned companies are doing same. Government officials will have to forfeit some overseas trips to save some money to help deal with the situation. The government might also realise that if it reduced taxes on fuel even by a few percentage points, ordinary Ivorians will be happy. Perhaps next door neighbour, Ghana, will follow suit as unconfirmed statistics (but more of a reality) indicate that 40 % of Ghana’s fuel is used up freely by government’s ministries, regional and district representatives of the central government. More power to the ordinary Ivorian.