A senior Minority member on Parliament’s Energy Committee has called for a temporary suspension of the GH¢1 per litre energy levy, arguing the government’s current fuel relief measures do not go far enough, while separately warning that Ghana’s fuel reserves remain too thin to withstand a prolonged global supply shock.
George Kwame Aboagye, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Asene/Manso/Akroso, made the call on TV3’s Hot Issues programme on Sunday, April 19, 2026, urging the government to target the levy directly rather than limit relief to margins.
The government confirmed on April 15 that it would absorb GH¢2.00 per litre on diesel and GH¢0.36 per litre on petrol effective April 16, 2026, following a Cabinet directive issued after an emergency meeting on April 9. The intervention, designed as a four-week measure to cushion consumers from price shocks driven by the Middle East conflict, stopped short of suspending the GH¢1 Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy (ESSDRL).
Aboagye said that levy is precisely where relief should be directed. “We are talking about taxes, especially the GH¢1 fuel levy. That one is easier to take out. We are not saying abolish it, we are just saying suspend it because of the time we are in,” he said, proposing a one-to-three-month suspension as a targeted and manageable measure.
He noted that taxes account for roughly 40 percent of the pump price and argued that even a partial reduction would provide meaningful relief. “Even COVID we survived so government has to do something for us to survive,” he added.
On fuel security, Aboagye struck a cautionary note, saying Ghana cannot yet be described as energy secure. He said much of the fuel stored at the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) is held by private entities rather than the state, and that current reserve levels of approximately four to six weeks offer only limited protection against a prolonged disruption to global supply. “If we have a prolonged war and crude oil is not coming at all, we haven’t gotten there yet,” he said.
Aboagye has consistently opposed the GH¢1 levy since its introduction through the Energy Sector Levies Amendment Act, 2025, which he described at the time as a reversal of the NDC government’s pre-election commitments.
