GPRTU, COPEC demand timeline and transparency for GHS1 fuel levy
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) are urging government to clarify the duration and purpose of the GH¢1 fuel levy set to take effect on July 16.
The two groups are calling for a clear timeline on the levy’s implementation and want assurances that the charge will not become a permanent part of fuel pricing.
Following earlier objections, the GPRTU now says it is no longer opposed to the levy, citing ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. However, it insists that the tax must not be indefinite.
Abass Imoro, Industrial Relations Officer for the GPRTU, said while current price movements are manageable, any further increases could lead to 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,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, said the levy must not be allowed to become a long-term tax hidden in fuel prices.
“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 said.
He argued that revenue from the levy should directly support Ghana’s energy sector and called for greater accountability.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies says preparations are underway for the July 16 rollout, which coincides with the second pricing window of the month.
However, its CEO, Dr Riverson Oppong, said it remains unclear how the levy will affect fuel prices in the short term.
“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.
As stakeholders prepare for the levy’s implementation, calls for transparency and defined timelines continue to mount, with transport unions and consumer advocates warning against additional burdens on already stretched consumers.
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