Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has described the government’s decision to suspend the implementation of the controversial Energy Sector Levy, commonly called the Fuel Levy as a “sensible” and timely move, given the looming global oil price hikes driven by Middle East tensions.
Reacting to the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) directive on June 13 to indefinitely postpone the rollout of the GHS 1 per litre levy, Cudjoe said on Facebook that the government was right to step back and reassess the potential economic impact before proceeding with such a policy.
“As oil prices are set to rise due to tension in the Middle East, the government must assess the situation and likely impact before rolling out the GHS 1 ‘dumsor’ levy,” he wrote.
Cudjoe further urged the government to respond to the looming crisis by fast-tracking domestic oil production, investing recent foreign exchange and gold windfalls wisely—particularly in agriculture—and recovering stolen public funds from the last eight years to reinvest in economic buffers.
His comments come as the Mahama-led government faces criticism from the Minority in Parliament over the sudden U-turn on the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, 2025. Critics have accused the government of poor consultation and inconsistent policymaking.
President Mahama has directed the Finance and Energy Ministries to model the potential impact of rising oil prices linked to the Iran-Israel conflict, with assurances that citizens will be protected from undue economic hardship.