The Minority in parliament in the Republic of Ghana is demanding an immediate withdrawal of the recent upward review of taxes imposed on petroleum products.
According to them, such a move will bring down the prices of fuel and other petroleum products and bring relief to consumers.
Minority’s Spokesperson Adam Mutawakilu, who is also a Ranking Member on Mines and Energy Committee in Parliament, said the recent increase in fuel prices cannot be justified.
“Government has been blaming all these increments on international crude oil price and the depreciation of the cedi. But, what makes this one different and more insensitive is the fact that this is not a result of international crude oil prices or exchange rates issues. It is the imposition of more taxes,” he told Accra-based Citi FM in an interview.
“The government, when in opposition, propagandised and captured in their manifesto that they were moving this country from taxation to production, but all of a sudden, it has developed so much appetite for taxation,” he criticised.
Fuel prices at the pump shot up from the previous GHc5.19 per litre to about GHc5.39 for a litre, representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps on Monday, September 2, 2019.
The increment was due to a directive from the petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA), based on the Supplementary Budget presented in parliament by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Monday, August 29, 2019.