NPP had more permanent fuel relief measures than current GH¢2 diesel cut – Amin Adam

Former Finance Minister and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has argued that the NPP implemented broader and more permanent measures to cushion consumers from rising fuel prices than the current GH¢2 reduction in the price of diesel being offered by the government. Dr Amin Adam made the claim in a Facebook post on Sunday, September 27, in which he compared the current intervention with measures undertaken by the previous NPP administration during periods of elevated fuel prices. He said those measures included the abolition of the excise tax on fuel and reductions in the Special Petroleum Tax from 17.5% to 15% and subsequently to 13%.

He further cited the conversion of the Special Petroleum Tax from an ad valorem tax to a specific tax, as well as the zero-rating of the Petroleum Stabilisation and Recovery Levy for extended periods. According to him, these measures were not merely temporary interventions because they were backed by legislation and their fiscal effects were absorbed through the national budget. Dr Amin Adam also pointed to the NPP government’s Gold for Oil programme, which he said helped bring fuel prices down significantly after pump prices had exceeded GH¢20 per litre.

He described the initiative as “revolutionary”, arguing that it provided a mechanism for securing petroleum products while reducing some of the foreign-exchange pressures associated with importing fuel. Dr Amin Adam previously served as chairman of the Gold for Oil initiative. By contrast, Dr Amin Adam said the current GH¢2 relief on diesel was temporary and involved reductions in margins for the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) and the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF).

“The NDC’s current GH¢2 relief on diesel is temporary and worse of all, it is quasi-fiscal as it only cut margins for BOST and UPPF weakening the petroleum sector resilience,” he said, adding that the government should consider more comprehensive measures if it wants to provide sustained relief to consumers. In a Facebook post on Sunday, September 27, Dr Amin Adam said diesel was still being sold at prices ranging between GH¢17.55 and GH¢18.99 despite the government’s GH¢2 intervention. He argued that the relief was being partly offset by other measures affecting the price of petroleum products.

According to him, the GH¢2 reduction had already been partly neutralised by a GH¢1-per-litre levy imposed by the government on fuel. He also cited recent increases in levies on fuel oil, which he said had imposed additional costs on industries and power producers. “Even with this temporary relief, half of the amount has already been neutralized by the GH¢1 per liter levy imposed by the government on fuel,” he stated.

Dr Amin Adam further attributed part of the continuing pressure at the pumps to the depreciation of the cedi, which he said had declined by 12% year-to-date. He argued that exchange-rate movements directly affect the domestic cost of imported petroleum products because Ghana purchases petroleum products on the international market and therefore remains exposed to changes in both international prices and the value of the cedi. “What we need now is a comprehensive intervention by the government.