The Minority Caucus in Parliament has vehemently condemned the indefinite postponement of the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, 2025, by the Ghana Revenue Authority under the direction of the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
Issued through a press release, the Minority expressed its “profound disappointment and vehement condemnation” of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) directive, which pushed back the implementation of the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy (ESSDRL) on petroleum products, originally slated for June 16, 2025.
This eleventh-hour decision, according to the Minority, “epitomises this Government’s chaotic and fundamentally inconsistent approach to economic governance,” signalling what they perceive as a complete reversal of promises and a demonstration of incompetence.
“We consider it thoroughly reprehensible and profoundly hypocritical that the very Government which ruthlessly castigated the previous New Patriotic Party administration under His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for attributing Ghana’s economic challenges to external factors- namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict – has now brazenly reversed course to cite the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis as justification for crude oil price volatility, thereby necessitating this postponement”.
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
The Minority argued that for the current government to now adopt “precisely the same rhetoric they once denounced with such vehemence” demonstrates “the zenith of political opportunism, crass hypocrisy, and intellectual dishonesty.”
They further emphasised that President Akufo-Addo’s administration, as they see it, successfully implemented comprehensive economic recovery programmes, maintained Ghana’s democratic institutions, and delivered transformative infrastructure projects even whilst confronting these same global challenges.
“Throughout the tenure of the previous administration, this Government, whilst in opposition, consistently maintained that external economic shocks constituted mere pretexts for inadequate economic stewardship, and that any competent administration ought to have established sufficient fiscal buffers to weather such global disruptions.
“They categorically accused President Akufo-Addo of lacking the requisite competence to navigate Ghana through international crises.”
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
The Minority asserted that the postponement itself is a damning indictment of the government’s operational readiness, arguing that the fact that they are now compelled to delay implementation following belated “consultations with stakeholders” reveals that the initial decision to enact the levy was taken “without adequate consultation.”
This, they argued, is a “manifest indication of governance characterised by improvisation and trial-and-error methodology,” suggesting a reactive rather than a proactive approach to economic policy. Such a haphazard method, the Minority implied, inevitably leads to instability and erodes public confidence.
Threats of Hardship
Furthermore, the Minority unequivocally stated that the Energy Sector Levy, which aims to impose “additional fiscal burdens upon already beleaguered Ghanaians through petroleum product taxation, should never have been contemplated” in the first place.
According to the Caucus, at a time when citizens are struggling with severe cost-of-living pressures, the introduction of supplementary fuel levies is deemed not merely “insensitive policymaking” but “economically counterproductive governance.”
These levies, the Minority warned, inevitably generate “cascading effects upon transportation costs, food prices, and all essential commodities,” exacerbating the economic hardships faced by ordinary Ghanaians.
“In keeping with our earlier opposition to the passage of the bill, the Minority categorically repudiates this postponement as wholly inadequate and demands the complete reversal of this misguided policy direction.
“We emphatically call upon the Government to immediately table a repeal bill under certificate of urgency to comprehensively abolish the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, 2025.”
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
The Minority insisted that the citizens of Ghana merit governance superior to an administration that imposes punitive taxation only to postpone implementation when confronted with legitimate public opposition, signalling that anything short of a full repeal will be unacceptable.
The Minority also challenged the government’s initial justification for imposing the levy, which claimed the funds were necessary to ensure stability within the power sector and to service legacy debts.
Such a justification, the Minority argued, “rings hollow’ when one considers that His Excellency President Akufo-Addo maintained a “consistent power supply throughout his tenure without resorting to such punitive levies on the Ghanaian populace.”
They maintained that the previous NPP administration demonstrated that “competent energy sector management, prudent fiscal oversight, and strategic partnerships could deliver reliable electricity without burdening citizens with additional taxes.”
This stark contrast, the Minority contended, underscores the current government’s fundamental inability to manage the energy sector effectively.
Moreover, the Minority categorically rejected any attempt by the government to utilise the call for the repeal of the “obnoxious levy as a pretext for exacerbating the power crisis they have themselves inflicted upon the nation since assuming office.”
They firmly place the blame for the deteriorating state of Ghana’s power supply “squarely at the feet of the current government’s incompetent management,” asserting that it “cannot and must not be attributed to the absence of this levy.”
The Minority maintained that Ghanaians deserve both reliable electricity and freedom from excessive fiscal burdens, objectives they believe are “entirely compatible under competent leadership.“
Calls for Immmediate Action
To address the current “malaise afflicting the power sector,” the Minority demanded “immediate and comprehensive intervention,” specifically calling for “urgent and far-reaching structural reforms” at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
They pinpointed “deeply entrenched operational inefficiencies that have precipitated widespread power theft and catastrophic revenue haemorrhage” as core issues.
“The present state of affairs – wherein expired prepaid meters continue to function without proper regulatory oversight, and numerous consumers access electricity without remuneration, not through wilful delinquency but due to fundamentally defective metering infrastructure is wholly unacceptable and represents a damning indictment of this Government’s abject failure in energy sector stewardship.”
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
The Minority further recalled that the Honourable Minister for Energy and Green Transition had previously pledged to continue the “comprehensive implementation of the Loss Reduction Programme designed by the Akufo-Addo administration,” which aimed to replace obsolete meters and expand access to prepaid metering systems.
Regrettably, this program “appears to have stalled indefinitely,” despite the “demonstrable existence of contracted companies possessing the requisite technical capacity to manufacture and distribute new meters expeditiously.”
The Caucus highlighted that communities across the country continue to make desperate appeals for prepaid meters, while others remain exposed to unregulated power consumption, with its attendant catastrophic revenue implications.
Consequently, the Minority categorically demanded that the Honourable Minister forthwith present the complete policy documents pertaining to the Loss Reduction Programme and all related reforms to Parliament for the requisite legislative scrutiny and action.
“Parliament must be afforded the fundamental opportunity to scrutinise rigorously, debate comprehensively, and provide stringent oversight in a wholly transparent manner to ensure both uncompromising accountability and effective delivery of these absolutely critical reforms”.
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
Maintaining Electoral Pledge
The Minority Caucus concluded its statement by reminding the government that it “ascended to power upon solemn pledges to provide relief to Ghanaians, not to impose additional fiscal encumbrances.”
They argued that the introduction of such a novel levy directly contradicts His Excellency President John Mahama’s electoral commitments and further underscores his government’s profound disconnection from the harsh economic realities confronting ordinary citizens.
Signed by Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahēn Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the release affirmed the Minority’s commitment to “categorically resist any attempt to impose further hardships upon Ghanaians through such regressive fiscal policies.”
They called upon “all right-thinking Ghanaians” to unite with them in demanding the complete withdrawal of this “pernicious levy,” reiterating that the government “must forthwith convene Parliament under a certificate of urgency to repeal this legislation in its entirety.”
Any response falling short of complete repeal, the Minority declared, “shall prove unacceptable both to the Minority and to the people of Ghana.”
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