The fuel levy is GH¢2 not GH¢1 – Energy Analyst exposes Ato Forson

Energy Analyst Kwadwo Poku has accused the government of deceiving Ghanaians about the true cost of the recently approved petroleum levy, insisting the actual charge is GH¢2.00 per litre rather than the GH¢1.00 publicly announced.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Mr Poku explained that when you combine the newly introduced levy with pre-existing charges, the government is now collecting nearly GH¢2.00 for every litre of petrol and diesel.

“The government is collecting GH¢2, not GH¢1. According to the budget, they had already introduced 95 pesewas. With this new addition, the total levy is ¢1.95 on petrol and ¢1.93 on diesel,” he said.

He warned that this could allow the government to rake in over a billion dollars annually from petroleum taxes alone, placing even more strain on consumers already dealing with economic hardship.

“You want Ghanaians to pay an extra one billion cedis every year through petroleum taxes, yet we are already burdened with high electricity bills,” Mr Poku lamented.

He also criticised the Ministry of Finance, describing its fiscal planning as flawed and based on unrealistic projections.

“There appears to be a problem at the Ministry of Finance. When the Minister read the budget, he clearly knew the projections were based on an exchange rate of 15.4. Now, with a 30% revenue shortfall, the government is scrambling for cash.”

Mr Poku questioned the government’s justification for pushing the levy through Parliament using a Certificate of Urgency, saying it had little to do with solving energy sector challenges.

“This has nothing to do with the energy sector. It is simply the government taxing Ghanaians to fund its budget. We must not allow this to be framed as an energy-sector conversation,” he argued.

The petroleum levy has drawn criticism from civil society groups, energy experts, and ordinary Ghanaians who are already struggling with high costs of living and rising utility bills.