The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to permanently scrap the proposed fuel levy and explore more sustainable ways of generating revenue to address Ghana’s energy sector debt.
The appeal follows the government’s decision to postpone the implementation of the GHS1 per litre fuel levy, which was initially scheduled to take effect today, June 16, 2025.
Speaking to the media, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy Committee and MP for Ofoase Ayirebi emphasized that taxing petroleum products is not a sustainable approach to revenue mobilisation.
“We as a Minority have called on the government to go beyond the suspension and scrap the levy entirely,” he said. “This suspension reveals two things: First, we warned that introducing the levy would increase pump prices. Second, assuming international fuel prices would remain stable was flawed.”
He further explained that the government’s decision to suspend the levy is an admission of miscalculation. “While we wait for the scrapping, we are urging the government to use this window to begin a comprehensive review of the efficiency and fairness of our revenue mobilisation system.”
According to the MP, Ghana’s budget still faces a major shortfall due to revenue gaps created by tax cuts that were not matched with reduced spending.
“Our revenue problems have not gone away. This GHS5.7 billion levy was meant to patch a budget hole of about GHS6 billion. That problem still exists,” he warned.
The Minority insists that the government must find fairer and more sustainable ways to raise revenue without burdening citizens at the pump.
