By: Ashiadey Dotse
Ghana’s Energy Minister, John Jinapor, says the recently introduced GH¢1.00 fuel levy is expected to raise between GH¢5 billion and GH¢6 billion. However, he warned that this amount will not be enough to fully meet the country’s fuel needs of the energy sector.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Minister explained that the levy is part of efforts to solve Ghana’s growing energy sector debt and ensure there is enough liquid fuel to power electricity plants.
“This GH¢1 levy will help us raise about GH¢5–6 billion, which is around 60% of what we need,” he said. “We still need support from the Finance Ministry to cover the rest.”
Mr. Jinapor also mentioned that the government is working with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to renegotiate payment plans. He said this is part of a strategy to reduce inefficiencies and stabilize the energy sector.
“Our immediate challenge is finding the money to buy fuel so we can keep the lights on,” he added.
However, not everyone agrees with the government’s approach. Benjamin Nsiah, Executive Director of the Centre for Environment and Sustainable Energy, criticized the new levy. He called it “regressive, uncreative, and unfair” to Ghanaians who are already struggling with high living costs.
“This is nothing new,” Mr. Nsiah said in an interview with Citi Business News. “We’ve seen similar taxes like ESLA before, but they haven’t solved the core problems. The issue isn’t how much money we collect, but how we use it.”
