Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller on Wednesday urged motorists to carpool to help cope with rising gasoline prices.
The gas price increase is expected to take place on Good Friday rounding the price of gas per gallon to almost $3.60.
The planned increase at Shell and Texaco stations is $ 3.57, a $.23 increase; and at Esso stations, the price per gallon of gasoline will jump by 19 cents to $3.59, the Minister announced at a press conference at his office on West Bay Street.
The gas dealers have also requested an increase for diesel fuel, which Minister Miller said may impact the cost of using public transportation.
The proposed prices for a gallon of diesel will range from $2.81 to $2.85, he said.
ﾓI believe that all Bahamians are fully aware that over the past 12 months there has been a dramatic increase in the cost of fuel,ﾒ Minister Miller said.
He said it seems as though when gas prices increase in Florida by three cents, in New Providence they increase by 23 cents.
Minister Miller blamed the escalating price of gasoline on a formula implemented by the former administration, which allows the retailers to request higher gasoline prices whenever the prices per barrel of oil is increased on the world market.
ﾓThere is a formula in place that the government will be revisiting very shortly,ﾒ he assured. ﾓWe have now been able to put a group of prominent Bahamians together that will be looking intricately at the margins that are currently being charged to the Bahamian people.ﾒ
According to the Minister, there is a 77 cent-markup placed on each gallon of gasoline before it is purchased. He said throughout the Caribbean region there is no such exorbitant margin compared to what is charged in The Bahamas.
ﾓWe are going to put a committee in place of Bahamian accountants and businesspersons to sit and objectively give an in depth re-evaluation of the margins that have been given to the respective oil companies over the years,ﾒ Minister Miller told reporters.
He added that this team will determine whether it is fair for the Bahamian consumers to have the burden of paying the increased fees.
The price of crude oil per barrel has soared over the last two weeks reaching $57 per barrel, the highest price for oil since last yearﾴs hurricanes.
But Minister Miller assured that his push for the PetroCaribe initiative will continue as he plans to head back to Venezuela in April.
ﾓWe are hoping that our talks in Venezuela will be successful over the next few weeks and we are going to be pushing the Venezuelans very hard to give us a formula that we feel is fair and equitable for us to ease the burden of gas for the Bahamian people,ﾒ he said.
The initiative is geared at driving the cost of gasoline down to $2.75 per gallon through the purchase of petroleum products from Venezuela, cutting out the middlemen.
Minister Miller said in order to try and give the Bahamian consumers a chance to recuperate from the steadily increasing gas prices, he has refrained from signing off on proposals for further increases quickly, causing the retailers to blame a significant loss on the Trade and Industry Ministry.
ﾓOver the past 60 days the gas dealers said they have lost over $500,000 in revenue because we did not give them the increase when they anticipated,ﾒ Minister Miller said.
He added that as a result he has instructed the officials at his ministry not to sign any gas increase proposals without him first authorizing the increase.
Minster Miller said he has sought a trade deal with the Venezuelan government by which The Bahamas could assist with building that countryﾴs financial and insurance industry and in turn the members of PetroCaribe will receive cheaper oil.
ﾓWe did not just want to go out on an oil scheme trying to get cheap oil, but we wanted to do something for one another. The talks have not gone as we had anticipated, but you always have to expect stumbling blocks,ﾒ the minister said.
Through the PetroCaribe initiative, gasoline prices would not increase over a three-year period, according to the Trade Minister.
Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
