The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to scrap the GH₵1 levy on petroleum products, arguing that it has outlived its usefulness and is exacerbating the financial burden on citizens amid rising fuel costs.
Deputy Ranking Member of the Energy Committee, Collins Adomako Mensah, noted that ongoing tensions involving Israel, the United States, and Iran have pushed up global crude oil prices, with a direct impact on fuel prices in Ghana.
“Keeping the one Ghana Cedi levy is punishment,” he said, urging the government to repeal it immediately under a certificate of urgency and undertake a comprehensive review of all taxes and levies embedded in petroleum prices.
As of the second pricing window of March 2026, diesel was selling at GH₵15.60 per litre, while petrol had exceeded GH₵12.40 per litre. The Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Act, 2025, added approximately GH₵1 to the price build-up, bringing the total levy for debt repayment and sector shortfalls to GH₵1.95 for petrol and GH₵1.93 for diesel.
The Minority further pointed out that the government had fully settled the energy sector’s outstanding debt between January and December 2025, paying about $1.47 billion. This included the repayment of GH₵597 million drawn under the World Bank’s partial risk guarantee and the clearance of all outstanding gas invoices.
“With the World Bank guarantee fully restored and the energy sector debt cleared, the justification for the GH₵1 levy has completely evaporated,” Mensah said.
He added that the government should also consider suspending or restructuring other embedded levies to cushion consumers from the impact of rising global oil prices.
