The Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has presented the Energy Sector Levy Amendment Bill to Parliament under a certificate of urgency, proposing new taxes on petroleum products.
The House will consider the Bill under a certificate of emergency.
Upon approval, the new taxes will be imposed on all petroleum products, with the generated revenue aimed at settling a US$3.1 billion energy debt outstanding as of March 2025.
According to the Minister, the tax increase will not have an immediate impact on consumers at the pumps, attributing this to the robust performance of the Ghanaian cedi.
He highlighted the precarious financial state of the energy sector, which includes substantial arrears to Independent Power Producers, State-Owned Enterprises, and key fuel suppliers.
The Minister noted that non-payment of bills to major power providers, such as ENI and Karpowership, significantly contributed to the crisis, resulting in the exhaustion of a US$512 million World Bank IDA guarantee and a US$120 million GNPC guarantee in 2024, and necessitating an additional US$632 million to restore these guarantees.
“To help raise additional revenue to fund the needs in the power sector, the government is proposing an increase in the ex-pump price of petrol, diesel and related products.
“Mr. Speaker, I repeat,” he emphasised, “the impact will be absorbed by the gains made from the strong performance of the Ghana Cedi and this will mean that consumers will not have to pay extra for the price of petrol and diesel beginning today.”
He added, “Our simulations suggest that there will be no increase in the ex-pump price of petrol and diesel in the next window beginning today if the levy is imposed. This is because of a strong Ghana Cedi.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
