One month fuel relief cannot erase 13 months of 'midnight levy' — NPP to gov't

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the government's temporary GH¢2-per-litre diesel price reduction, arguing that the intervention cannot offset the impact of the Energy Sector Levies introduced more than a year ago.

The government announced the GH¢2 diesel price reduction on August 3 as a temporary measure aimed at cushioning consumers, preventing transport fare increases and containing inflationary pressures.

The intervention took effect on August 4 and is expected to last for one month.

However, in a press conference addressed by the NPP's Policy Co-ordinating Committee, the party asserted that even though the measure may provide short-term relief to consumers, it does not address what it describes as the broader burden created by fuel-related taxes and levies imposed on Ghanaians.

"A consumer who has paid GHC1.00 extra on every litre of petrol and diesel for more than a year now receives, at best, GHC2.00 back on diesel for a single month, and nothing at all on petrol," the party stated.

The party's Policy Secretariat argued that the one-month reduction in diesel prices only cushions part of the increase in fuel prices and does not return consumers to the price levels they experienced in January 2025.

It said the government must disclose the source of funding for the intervention, the expected revenue loss and whether the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which introduced an additional GH¢1 per litre on petroleum products, would remain in force during the relief period.

"The GH¢2.00 reduction may ease the pressure for a month. But a one-month discount on diesel, financed opaquely, alongside a permanent levy taken at midnight and a downgraded energy sector, is not an economic strategy," it said.