AMMAN —
Jordanians reacted angrily to the government’s decision on Tuesday to raise the
prices of fuel products for the month of June. This is considered the highest
hike in the history of the Kingdom.
اضافة اعلان
The issue of how
big will the rise be has been the subject of social media chatter for the past
few days, amid repeated appeals to put an end to additional rises, which have
exhausted consumers who are already battling difficult economic conditions.
In a statement
on Wednesday, the pricing committee said that the increase in the price of
gasoline (octane 95) for the month of June was only 22 percent of the actual
cost difference, 14 percent for
gasoline (octane 90) and 11 percent for diesel
and kerosene.
Activists on
social media and bloggers launched an initiative calling for a national
campaign to boycott gasoline and other fuel products, describing it as a
patriotic duty.
Political
activist Haitham Al-Ayasra, one of the sponsors of this initiative, told
Jordan
News that “the boycott includes not using vehicles on Fridays and
Saturdays, shortening trips on other days, and carpooling, in addition to the
importance of not using vehicles except for emergencies.”
Lawrence Rifai,
a spokesman for rideshare drivers, told
Jordan News that “a large number
of drivers will continue their strike which they started few days ago, and what
boosted their determination to continue the strike is the latest fuel increase,
which has become a great burden for them.”
He added that
“the number of cars working on rideshare applications has decreased to 92,00 at
the present time from 13,400, and the number will decrease further during the
coming period if the situation continues to be this bad.”
“A large number
of cars will be seized, especially since drivers are no longer able to meet
their financial obligations under such difficult circumstances,” Rifai added.
He said that “a
sizeable part of drivers’ income goes to paying for fuel, and we are unable to
pay for food and drink and our families other needs, which threatens the social
and economic security of drivers and their families.”
Energy expert
Hashem Aqel told
Jordan News that “the increase in the prices of oil
derivatives has become so stressful for citizens especially under the current
economic conditions, which are getting worse.”
He indicated
that “these rises have a negative impact on the national economy, especially
that the national oil bill is draining foreign currency.”
“It can be said
that there are many factors that go into setting the price of gasoline that are
out of our control, including the costs of imported crude oil and refining, but
there are things the government can do like reducing the fuel tax,” Aqel said.
“This tax must
be reduced, and that should not lead to a decline in government revenues,
because as more cash becomes available, consumers will spend it to buy other
products which in turn will benefit the state Treasury,” he added.
Aqel expected
the price of oil to continue to rise “especially in light of additional
sanctions imposed on
Russia.”
Energy Expert
Amer Al-Shoubaki told
Jordan News that “for the third time in a row,
Khasawneh’s government broke historical records in hiking the price of fuel.”
“The rise in
gasoline prices, locally, comes due to the rise in its prices globally, and the
government’s insistence on reintroducing the fuel tax cut has made things
worse,” he said.
“Since late last
year and until end of
Ramadan the government had cut that tax to zero but it
re-imposed it as of May and at a time when global oil prices crossed the $100
mark,” Shoubaki added.
“Global oil
markets are witnessing strong demand in light of production restrictions by
OPEC Plus, the Russian war on Ukraine, and the European decision to sanction
Russian oil, raising anxiety over supplies.”
“The refined
derivatives markets are also witnessing an unprecedented rise in the price of
gasoline and diesel as a result of a shortage in global refining capacity of
oil which is due to lack of investment in refineries,” Shoubaki concluded.
Economist
Mohammad Al-Basheer told
Jordan News that “the energy file has become
the second largest burden on citizens after the sales tax.” He indicated that
“the rise in the prices of oil derivatives will affect several other sectors,
especially as energy cost has interconnected links.”
He said that reducing
the fuel tax would mitigate the negative impact of global increase on the
prices of oil derivatives.
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