The Minority in Parliament is demanding a withdrawal of the reccent upward review of taxes on petroleum products.
According to the Minority, such a move will bring down the prices of fuel and other petroleum products.
Earlier in the week, some Oil Marketing Companies increased the price of fuel due to the kicking in of tax adjustments to the ESLA levies.
Adam Mutawakilu who is a Ranking Member parliament’s committee on Mines and Energy 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.”
“The government when in opposition, propagandized 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 criticized.
It emerged that, pump prices have shot up from the previous GHc 5.19 per litre to about GHc5.39 for a litre representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps.
Energy think tank, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) attributed the recent fuel hike to the increase in some components of the energy sector levies.
Fuel increment
Increments in fuel prices have incensed many Ghanaians who say the government should remove some of the taxes on petroleum products to reduce the prices.
The increases have often been attributed to the depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar.