A staunch member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nana Kwame Jantuah, is questioning the Minority in Parliament’s stance on the energy sector levy recently approved by Parliament and assented to by President John Dramani Mahama on June 5, 2025.
He has criticised Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, over the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) audacity in asking the government to rescind the levy, given their failure to settle the debt during their eight years in power.
Speaking on TV3’s BigIssue segment on NewDay on Friday, June 6, 2025, Kwame Jantuah questioned the validity of the debt amount owed in the energy sector, adding that the levy was a “necessary evil” if indeed such debts had been accrued.
According to him, the country will face power crises if the issue isn’t resolved. His comments follow the Minority’s plans to stage protests against the levy in the coming days.
According to members of the caucus, the decision contradicts the government’s earlier call for commercial drivers to reduce transport fares by 15%, describing the fuel levy hike as a “stab in the back” to Ghanaians whom they say are already struggling with economic hardship.
On Thursday, June 5, 2025, Annoh-Dompreh told journalists that it is either the government scraps the levy or reduce it or have them to contend with.
“This is not just about a one cedi increase, it is about the soul of our nation. If you look at the impact analysis that they did, it is suspect in my view. We urge all Ghanaians to join us in opposing this unjust, economically devastating tax that Ato and his government have forced on us.
“The Minority, in the coming days, in solidarity with the Ghanaian people, will be staging many actions to demand the withdrawal or the reversal of this tax. We consider it draconian, insensitive, and an action that depicts a government that is out of touch with the people of this country and the NDC is truly revealing its true colours,” he said.
But reacting to the development, the private legal practitioner and CPP stalwart questioned why the NPP couldn’t solve the problem during their 8 years in office, further asking if they had a solution to offer.
“What is his (Annoh-Dompreh) solution? We have a debt of GHC80 billion. Is that debt there? Is it true that we have a debt of GHC8 billion? Is it true that we owe Karpower GHC400 million? Is it true that we need nothing less than GHC24 million to purchase fuel? All these figures, are they true? If it is true, when did the NPP leave power? How many months ago? Were they able to solve it? So is this not a national issue? Should we not see it as a national issue?” he quizzed.
The passage of the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, by Parliament on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 adds an additional GHC1.00 levy per litre of petroleum products, which the government says is expected to generate an additional 5.7 billion Ghana Cedis in revenue to help reduce energy sector debts and support stable power supply by curbing dumsor.
Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, explained that Ghana’s energy sector debt currently stands at US$3.1 billion, and will require US$3.7 billion dollars to clear it.
According to him, an additional US$1.2 billion will be needed by the government to purchase fuel to power Ghana’s thermal power generation for the year 2025.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister says the new tax does not mean consumers are going to pay extra money at the pump when purchasing fuel.
