A coalition of policy and energy think tanks pressing the government for an immediate cut in petroleum prices has made clear that the fight over fuel costs runs far deeper than a temporary reduction, setting out a long-term structural reform agenda it says is the only durable solution to Ghana’s recurring cycle of pump price shocks.
The coalition, comprising IMANI Africa, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), the Institute for Transition and Energy Policy Research (INSTEPR), and the Institute for Energy Security (IES), issued its joint proposals on April 14, 2026, following a directive by President John Dramani Mahama to the Ministries of Energy and Finance to review taxes, margins and levies within the petroleum pricing structure.
While the immediate demand is a GH₵1.65 per litre reduction maintained for two months, the groups warn that any short-term relief will remain fragile without deeper reform of the sector’s underlying architecture.
Their long-term recommendations include a comprehensive review, and possible removal, of levies considered excessive within the pricing framework, the creation of a Strategic Reserve Fund to cushion the country against future global oil price swings, and a substantial increase in investment in the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to expand domestic refining capacity and reduce dependence on imports.
That dependence is at the heart of the problem. Ghana currently imports approximately 70 percent of its refined petroleum products, a structural exposure that leaves consumers vulnerable each time international crude prices rise. The latest surge in global crude costs pushed the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to raise minimum price floors for the April 1 to 15 pricing window, lifting petrol prices by roughly 15 percent to GH₵13.30 per litre and diesel by roughly 19 percent to GH₵17.10 per litre.
The GH₵1.65 figure the coalition is calling for was not arrived at arbitrarily. The groups conducted a levy-by-levy analysis of the current price build-up, identifying targeted cuts across the Road Fund Levy, Energy Fund Levy, Special Petroleum Tax, Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) margin, Fuel Marking Margin, Unified Petroleum Pricing (UPP) margin, and the Primary Sector Recovery Levy (PSRL).
COPEC data shows that a GH₵1 movement in pump prices carries an estimated GH₵400 million impact across the economy, underlining the scale of relief a full GH₵1.65 reduction would deliver if adopted.
A new pricing window opens on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Government’s decision in the hours ahead will signal not only its appetite for immediate consumer relief, but also how seriously it intends to pursue the structural changes the coalition says are long overdue.
