Two of Ghana’s major transport and energy advocacy groups are pressing the government for clarity and accountability ahead of the rollout of a GH¢1 fuel levy on July 16. The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) are urging authorities to provide a clear timeline for the levy’s implementation and ensure that the revenue is used transparently for energy sector reforms.
While the levy was initially met with resistance, the GPRTU now says it is prepared to cooperate following consultations with policymakers. Still, the union is calling for firm guarantees that the levy will not remain in place indefinitely.
“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,” said Abass Imoro, the GPRTU’s Public Relations Officer, in an interview.
Imoro also warned that while current fuel prices have not risen sharply, any further increases could trigger adjustments in transport fares. “We will still say it is a little better than where we were so let’s move forward and see. We are working and we will want to make sure we are making profit out of what we are doing. So when we get to a stage where we see no profit why not, we will start to make sure we also gain something out of what we are doing,” he said.
COPEC is taking a firmer stance, demanding that the levy be treated as a temporary fiscal tool with a defined purpose. Executive Secretary Duncan Amoah is calling for the revenue to be ring-fenced and directed exclusively toward addressing inefficiencies in 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,” Amoah said. “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.”
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies says its members are preparing for the levy’s introduction, which aligns with the start of the second pricing window in July. However, its Chief Executive, Dr. Riverson Oppong, cautioned that it remains too early to determine the impact on pump prices, citing ongoing volatility in both global and local markets.
“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 said.
The levy, announced earlier this year, is part of the government’s broader fiscal measures aimed at stabilizing the energy sector and recovering costs. But with fuel prices already a key driver of inflation and public frustration, groups like GPRTU and COPEC are warning that without transparency and a clear sunset clause, the move risks deepening economic pressures on transport operators and consumers alike.
