The government has announced that it will conduct regular reviews of the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to assess its effectiveness and make necessary adjustments as developments unfold within the sector.
This follows widespread public concern about the implications of the newly passed levy, which imposes a GHS1 tax on all petroleum products.
While many Ghanaians have not outrightly rejected the tax, they insist that its proceeds must be used solely for stabilising the energy sector, as promised.
Parliament, on Tuesday, June 3 approved the bill as part of measures to tackle Ghana’s growing energy crisis.
The Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who moved the bill, defended the decision by stating that the levy is a crucial revenue-generating tool to address the sector’s ballooning debts, currently estimated at $3.1 billion.
He assured that the financial burden on consumers would be cushioned by recent gains in the Ghanaian cedi, meaning fuel prices at the pumps would remain largely unaffected in the immediate term.
Despite these assurances, the bill triggered strong resistance from the Minority in Parliament, who accused the government of going back on its promise in the 2025 budget not to introduce any new taxes.
The Minority staged a walkout during the bill’s passage, describing it as untimely and inconsiderate, especially given the current economic hardship.
In an interview on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, the Head of Communications at the Ministry of Energy, Richmond Rockson, explained that the government is adopting a flexible approach in implementing the levy.
He revealed that periodic assessments will be made to determine whether the levy should be maintained, reduced, or even scrapped, depending on progress made in addressing energy sector challenges.
He added that several key interventions are currently underway to improve the sector’s performance.
These include directives to reduce energy consumption within government agencies, increased gas supply from international partners, and plans to expand the country’s gas infrastructure through the construction of a new gas processing plant.
Rockson noted that all these efforts are being carried out concurrently and will be taken into account when reviewing the necessity and sustainability of the energy sector levy.
READ: Parliament Approves GHS1 Energy Sector Levy on Petroleum Products
He said, “The period is the road map and what I will say is that if you look at the issues that we have to deal with, all the challenges are being tackled concurrently. So from time to time, a review will be made and that analysis will show whether or not the levy should even be reduced at the point, the levy should be scrapped, or the levy should be maintained with the 1 cedi that we have. Because there are a number of factors.”
“For example, there are a number of waveforms that we are seeing in the energy sector. When it comes to electricity, for example, cabinets have proved that all MDAs should pay less. When it comes to the supply of gas, cabinets have proved that they should procure more NGAS. When it comes to the gas infrastructure, the government has put in place, and the technical committee now has asked them to put in place a 10-gas processing plant, which will also impact on our fuel mix at the point. So all these are factors that are ongoing.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
