President John Mahama has defended the recently approved one Ghana cedi fee per liter of petroleum consumed, claiming that it is an essential step to save Ghana’s failing energy industry and prevent an impending power outage.
Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue 2025 final report presentation on Wednesday, June 4, the President stated that the decision, despite its difficulty, is based on the urgent need to stabilize the power supply and the hard reality of Ghana’s energy debt load.
President Mahama stated, “Our energy sector carries a debt burden of over US$3.1 billion,“with an estimated US$1.8 billion more required to finance fuel procurement for uninterrupted thermal power generation in the coming months”.
The debate identified energy sector liabilities as “the greatest existential threat to fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability,” he said, warning that if this crisis is not addressed head-on, it could jeopardize industrial growth and national productivity.
He said this resulted in Parliament approving the Energy Sector Levies Act change on Tuesday, June 3, expedited under a Certificate of Urgency.
President Mahama said that the amendment’s one-cedi rise in the energy sector recovery levy was “though difficult, necessary and justifiable.”
“The additional revenue projected is 5.7 billion cedis annually. This revenue will be strictly ring-fenced to pay down legacy energy debt, finance ongoing fuel purchases, and avert the risk of recurring power shortages.”
The President promised that the money wouldn’t be subject to the consolidated fund’s dangers. The revenue will instead be managed by a specialized system that ensures accountability and transparency through frequent audits and public reporting.
“The fund will be regularly audited, and audit reports will be made public to ensure its transparent use. While initially much of this revenue will go into the purchase of fuel to ensure a stable supply of electricity, with the ongoing developments in the upstream sector, we expect to receive more gas from our E&I Sankofa and Jubilee and TEN Fields.”
“With the assurance of additional gas through the West African Gas Pipeline, we expect to substantially reduce the use of liquid fuels in our energy mix. At that stage, the resources generated by this increased levy will be channeled to pay down accumulated legacy debts in the power sector,” President Mahama reiterated.
Source: newsthemegh.com