The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) Ghana has described the increases in taxes on fuel as ill timed, ill advised and completely insensitive.
COPEC is reacting to what they say is the 3.7% increase in the prices of fuel by some leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMC’s) in the country.
The group is demanding an immediate reversal of the increment.
“We are hereby demanding without delay, an immediate reversal and withdrawal of these recent hikes in order to make way for further dialogue on the current fuel price build-up with the view to reversing the recent unfortunate trend of persistent increases, as it is serving no good aside putting lives and businesses across the country on the edge,” the group demands.
It would be recalled that government through the Finance minister Ken Ofori Atta announced increases to some levies under the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA), a move that COPEC believes is to be blamed for the recent increases.
COPEC disclosed this in a statement issued and signed by its Executive Secretary Duncan Amoah.
“Pump prices have shot up from the previous GH¢5.19/litre to about GH¢5.39/litre representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps,” he stated.
COPEC has been leading the charge for government to reduce the tax component in petroleum pricing because the deregulated environment does not allow government to interfere in setting fuel prices.
COPEC believes taxes are the only component over which government has control hence the call for the reduction of taxes to drive down fuel prices.
COPEC in the statement therefore decried as bizarre the decision by government to “rather through the 2019 midyear budget review increase the already choking levels of fuel taxes leading to this current increases Ghanaians are seeing at the pumps now.”
“We would want to appeal to the Government to be sensitive to the plight of the Ghanaian, especially drivers and all other petroleum users as most are already complaining gravely, about the already high incidence of fuel prices across pumps,” the group said.
The Petroleum sector and Consumer advocacy group believes government can rake in more revenue from the sector without increasing taxes by focusing attention on dealing with the growing incidence of fuel smuggling.
“Fuel smuggling accounts for over 17% of all fuel sold within the country currently and what this implies is that Government loses close to 1/5 of all petroleum taxes and revenues as may be due it to this fuel smuggling cartel.”
“Ghana is known to have lost in excess of over GH¢4 billion over the last 3 year period, thus rendering the argument of government seeking to rake in some GH¢400 million for the remaining of 2019 and GH¢ 1.4 billion for the whole of 2020 with the increment in taxes completely unjustifiable,” the group argued.
Story: Sena Nombo/Radiogoldlive.com
