Claim I have endorsed GHS1 dumsor levy entirely false — Afenyo-Markin

The Minority Leader in Parliament and MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has denied claims that he endorsed the GHS1 levy on every litre of fuel, widely referred to as the dumsor levy.

A circulating video on social media shows the NPP lawmaker urging non-politicisation of efforts to address challenges facing the energy sector.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, June 13, Afenyo-Markin called on both sides of the House to support interventions that would help prevent erratic power supply in the country.

But in a social media post on Saturday, June 14, the Minority Leader clarified that his call for support was directed at addressing inefficiencies at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), not at endorsing any new tax.

“My attention has been drawn to a misleading video being circulated on social media suggesting that I have endorsed the dumsor levy. This claim is entirely false and a complete misrepresentation of the statement I made.

“What I did—and will continue to do—was to call for urgent reforms at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), reforms which the Energy Minister himself promised would be brought before Parliament,” he stated.

Afenyo-Markin explained that he urged the Minister for Energy “to walk the talk by engaging Parliament and laying these reforms before the House, rather than implementing them solely at the executive level.”

He warned that ECG’s structural inefficiencies, particularly in revenue collection, remain a serious threat to the sustainability of the power sector.

“During my time as Board Chairman of ECG, I came across a report which revealed that only about 30% of power users—households and industries combined—actually pay for the power they consume. Many others either lack proper meters or engage in illegal connections. That is the real crisis we must confront,” he added.