Lawyer Andrew Appiah Danquah has described the new GHS 1.00 fuel tax introduced by the government as a necessary but deeply painful measure, warning that Ghanaians have no choice but to accept it for the sake of national stability.
He questioned the lack of transparency around the purpose and projected outcomes of the tax, and criticised the government for failing to communicate a clear plan of action.
“We don’t have a choice but to swallow this bitter pill,” he said, stressing the urgency of the government’s need to raise funds to address long-standing debts in the energy sector.
Appiah Danquah noted that the government has not indicated how much revenue the GHC1 levy is expected to raise, nor has it defined a time frame for the tax or its application.
“There’s no end in sight – if at the end of the day, it’s supposed to aid in dealing with some debts. I think in the law or in the act that proposed the levy, there should be an endgame”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
He added that aside from the government outlining how long the levy will be collected, it must indicate what strategies are in place to address the causes of the financial strain in the energy sector.
“Government should be able to tell us that ‘oh we anticipate that we are going to collect this levy for four years – and beyond the four years, we think we’ll have enough money to pay the debt”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
Appiah Danquah also pointed to serious structural issues within the energy sector, specifically within state-owned enterprises such as the Ghana Grid Company (GridCo).
He said the sector suffers from technical losses caused by obsolete machinery and underinvestment. “They need serious capital injection,” he added.
According to him, tackling these technical and commercial inefficiencies is just as important as raising funds through taxation.
While acknowledging the difficulty of accepting the new fuel tax, Appiah Danquah said the alternatives could be far worse. He argued that Ghanaians must consider the potential return of erratic power supply – commonly known as Dumsor – if the financial gap is not closed.
“If the government needs to find $1.1 billion, where is that money going to come from? Are we going to protest and resist and then be saddled with Dumsor and the cascading effects of Dumsor?”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
He likened the tax to a bitter remedy a parent gives a child to cure an illness: “painful but necessary for recovery.” He insisted, however, that the NDC government must do more to communicate its intentions clearly and bring the public on board.
NPP Must Apologise
Reacting to the political response from the opposition, Appiah Danquah criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for attempting to protest the GHS 1 fuel tax. He argued that the NPP must instead take responsibility for the energy sector crisis.
“Ghanaians should open their eyes. They shouldn’t allow the NPP once again to divert the issues. You understand?
“Because when you go into the issues, the NPP, rather than having the gall to be attempting a demonstration, should rather be putting on sackcloth with ashes on their heads and begging”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
He added that Ghanaians must insist on accountability from both past and present leaders, more so from dealings of the erstwhile government, whose actions have contributed to the country’s current woes.
Appiah Danquah urged that a serious and independent audit be conducted, particularly into the operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which has come under heavy criticism for corruption and mismanagement. “An audit needs to be done because the numbers do not make sense.”
He accused the previous government of using the money gathered from certain taxes under its regime for purposes other than clearing the national debt, which further worsened the country’s energy sector debt crisis.
“You, with the aid of the World Bank, undertake an energy sector recovery program. The program comes out with a number of recommendations – then you radically and fundamentally fail to implement those recommendations to the point where we are in serious debt”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
He reiterated his calls for accountability and explained that by holding all past government officials accountable and making good on its promise of transparency, the current government would stand a good chance at getting the masses to stand in solidarity with the new fuel tax.
“People should be held accountable. The principles of probity and accountability must be made to work. We should see those principles being applied here”
Andrew Appiah Danquah, Lawyer
According to him, only a demonstrable commitment to transparency and responsibility will convince Ghanaians to support difficult reforms. Without that, public frustration will continue to mount.
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