GH?1 fuel levy is midnight robbery, simple wickedness - Oppong Nkrumah slams gov’t

Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee and Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has criticised the government over the introduction of the Energy Sector (Amendment) Bill, 2025, popularly known as the dumsor levy.

According to him, the move is a betrayal of the ordinary Ghanaian, describing it as midnight robbery and a stab in the back.

The bill imposes a GH?1 levy on every litre of petroleum products as part of efforts to rescue the country’s heavily indebted energy sector.

ALSO READ: Dr Bawumia slams new dumsor levy, says it's 8 times worse than E-levy

Speaking during a press conference held by the Minority Caucus on Monday, 9th June, Mr Oppong Nkrumah lambasted the government for implementing what he termed a more burdensome tax than the E-Levy, which was introduced by the previous administration.

He stated:

Ghanaians will bear witness that this levy is being charged at a rate of 8% per transaction. 8% per transaction and this makes it one of the highest tax rates introduced in Ghana in a single instance.

ALSO READ: GH¢1 fuel levy: NPP announces ‘dumsor levy’ demo less than 24 hours after bill passes

If you study the history of VAT and many of our other revenue handles, you’ll notice that at the first instance of introduction, the rates are sometimes 1%, 1.5%, or 2%, and then, over the years, there may be some add-ons and consolidation.”

He added:

For this particular levy, at the very first instance, the government is charging the people of Ghana 8%. This is one of the highest first-instance taxation rates ever introduced in the Republic.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah also noted that the current government vehemently opposed the E-Levy while in opposition, yet has now introduced a far worse tax.

He argued that the current levy lacks adequate stakeholder consultation, deeming it worse than the E-Levy:

The E-Levy had an effective rate of 1% per transaction, yet it was described as pickpocketing. This Dumsor Levy has an effective rate of 8% per transaction and that’s why we say it is midnight robbery. The E-Levy exempted transactions below GH?100.

He continued:

ALSO READ: No fuel price increases from GH¢1 energy levy - Pres. Mahama assures amid public outrage

Yet, the E-Levy was bastardised. The poor were exempted. This Dumsor Levy, however, has no minimum threshold. The poor are actually the most affected, because unlike the rich, every single cedi matters far more to them.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is scheduled to begin implementation of the controversial levy on 16th June 2025.

Read Full Story