The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) are calling on the government to provide clear timelines for the implementation and duration of the GH¢1 fuel levy, set to take effect on July 16.
The two groups are also demanding transparency in how the revenue will be used, warning against making the levy a permanent fixture.
After initial resistance, the GPRTU says it is no longer opposed to the GH¢1 fuel levy following discussions with key stakeholders. Industrial Relations Officer of GPRTU Abass Imoro speaking to Citi Business appealed that the levy must not be collected indefinitely.
With diesel prices recording a slight increase in the first pricing window of July, and petrol prices dropping marginally, he warns that any further hikes could result in higher 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.
“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.
