Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad said on Monday that the agreement made earlier in the year with President Bharrat Jagdeo that the minibus fares would not increase unless the price of gasoline reaches  $1,000 is still in effect, the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) reported.

GUYOIL’s price has remained at $930 but the price at other companies has exceeded this mark leading to bus operators calling for an increase in fares.

Prashad  met on Monday with the General Minibus Association, the Public Transporta-tion Association and other minibus associations working the various routes who have been calling for an increase in fares due to the recent spike in fuel prices, days after meeting with petrol dealers on the matter.

The Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), Sol and Chevron were also present at the meeting that examined possible measures that could be taken to stabilise the price of fuel at the service stations here.

Representatives from the associations told the minister that GUYOIL was not meeting their fuel demand because of short supply, but he noted that the company was putting measures in place to regularize its fuel supply to ensure there is no shortage. GUYOIL was temporarily out of petrol recently due to a delay in the shipment, GINA stated.

Meanwhile, at the recent meeting with the Petrol Dealers Association,  Prashad had indicated that they agreed to cooperate with the government in an effort to keep the price of fuel below $1,000. “They are working closely with us but they cannot give us any guarantees because they are concerned about the acquisition cost from the oil companies,” he was quoted by GINA as saying.

According to Prashad, one of the reasons why he met with the oil companies was to review the acquisition cost and another meeting will be set up shortly to discuss this aspect and to arrive at a solution regarding the gas prices and transportation fares.

The associations had planned to increase their fares today, but the minister  said that this was  unreasonable since they were still in the discussion stage and needed to provide more information. Meantime, the associations are asking for tax exemptions on vehicle parts that they replace on a regular basis. They were asked to submit a list of five major spare parts to the ministry which will be reviewed.  

GINA said further that the minister will meet with all the stakeholders again on June 26 to decide whether there will be a fare increase or not after examining the information provided.