The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) are urging the government to provide clear timelines for the implementation and duration of the GH¢1 fuel levy, which is set to take effect on July 16. Both organizations are also demanding transparency regarding how the revenue from this levy will be utilised, cautioning against allowing it to become a permanent measure.
After initial resistance, the GPRTU has changed its stance and is no longer opposed to the fuel levy following discussions with key stakeholders. Abass Imoro, the Industrial Relations Officer of GPRTU, stated in an interview with Citi Business that the levy should not be collected indefinitely. With diesel prices showing a slight increase in the first pricing window of July, while petrol prices have dropped marginally, he warned that any further price hikes could lead to increased transport fares.
“We believe it is better than our previous situation, so let’s move forward and evaluate. We are working, and we want to ensure that we are making a profit from our activities. If we reach a point where we are no longer gaining profit, we will take measures to address that,” he added.
“We also plead with those in authority to also make sure they come out with a timeline that we are taking this [fuel levy] for 6 months or for 1 year or whichever date they think it will sustain as up to,” Abass Imoro said. The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) is also raising red flags. Executive Secretary Duncan Amoah is demanding that the levy be time-bound and fully accounted for.
He insists the revenue should go directly into improving Ghana’s energy sector. “This new GHȼ1 levy should not be treated as one of those old taxes that we have left on the price build up forever. Whatever can be done in the short to medium term to get the energy or power sector to what you will call full cost recovery, we should gravitate towards that and then make the power sector equally deregulated like we have done with the petroleum sector. That way the sector will be able to finance itself without imposing any hardships on trotro drivers, taxi drivers because there is a challenge with the sector,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies says its members are preparing for the rollout of the levy on July 16, which coincides with the start of the second pricing window for the month.
However, the Chamber’s CEO, Dr. Riverson Oppong, says it’s too early to tell what exact impact the levy will have on fuel prices, citing ongoing global and local market volatility.
“It will be too early to say whether fuel prices will go up or down. The same position we took from the day this new levy came into being,” he mentioned.
By: Daniel Sackitey
