The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Mr Duncan Amoah, has expressed strong reservations about the newly introduced GH¢1 fuel levy, stating that taxation is not the solution to the long-standing challenges in the country’s energy sector.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Wednesday, June 3, Mr Amoah criticised the government’s approach, arguing that the levy is not the right mechanism to solve the problems of the energy sector.
“I will not be convinced that just coming to collect money at the pump any further gives you a solution on its own,” he said.
According to him, despite the accumulation of funds through the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) over the years, key issues such as power generation shortfalls, mounting debts, and operational inefficiencies persist.
“In 2016, when we went to Parliament to ask for ESLA, these were the very excuses we had, these were the very justifications they had put forward to the extent that there is a debt that we need to pay to make the sector more efficient, collection of ESLA for ten years, whatever we have applied it to has demonstrated that, the collection alone or taxing of the people cannot resolve the challenges you have,” he said.
Mr Amoah urged the government to explore reforms that prioritise transparency, accountability, and efficiency in energy management rather than imposing new taxes.
“If you want to resolve the issues in the energy sector, I do not believe that merely collecting money will resolve it, otherwise, we would have resolved it within the past ten years. We wouldn’t be here at all,” he argued.
The GH¢1 Energy Sector Recovery Levy, which was approved by Parliament on Tuesday, June 3, was announced by the Energy Minister, John Jinapor, as part of measures to stabilise and strengthen the energy sector.
Read Also: This is the right time to impose Gh¢1.00 fuel levy – John Jinapor
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