The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) in the West Africa nation, Ghana, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, has asked Akufo-Addo administration to consider removing taxes on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in a bid to increase consumption.
He said in many African countries that rely on LPG for domestic and commercial use, their governments have reduced the price of the product to make it more affordable.
“Countries like Nigeria and even Burkina Faso have the cheapest LPG prices despite the fact that Burkina Faso’s LPG comes from Ghana,” he explained.
His call follows several appeal by the LPG Marketers Association to government to abolish some of the taxes on the domestic LPG, which government refused.
The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday, July 29, 2019 announced an upward adjustment of LPG price by 8 pesewas when he presented the country’s mid-year budget statement in Parliament.
Thus, consumers who used 14.5kg are now paying almost GHS 1.20p extra.
Addressing stakeholders in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital on the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) policy being implemented by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr Agyemang Duah said government’s vision of achieving an LPG penetration would not be successful if the prices of LPG remains high.
He said taxes on LPG makes it more costly and unattractive for rural folks, thereby, depending on charcoal and firewood for domestic and commercial purposes.
The OMCs also want the government to regulate the use of autogas, especially among commercial drivers.
CEO of the NPA, Alhassan Tampuli revealed that the LPG penetration in the country is about 25 per cent of the national population adding that the 75 per cent of the population uses charcoal and firewood which has implications on the environment.
He said government wants to achieve a 50 per cent penetration of LPG by the end of the year 2030.
Mr Tampuli said the CRM policy aims to make LPG use safer and more accessible to Ghanaians.
He said, extensive consultation has been done and is still ongoing to ensure that the policy achieves its aims.
Some traditional leaders who participated in the engagement endorsed the Cylinder Recirculation Model. They believe it will create jobs.
