-As Government Reintroduces Controversial Price Stabilisation Levy.
Barely three months after scrapping the controversial levy on petroleum products called the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levies (PRL) a desperately cash-strapped Akufo Addo administration has reintroduced the levy.
According to the government, to continue subsidising Premix fuel for fisher-folks across the country, as the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) announced it will restore the levy today, February 1, 2022.
The levies were scrapped in October 2021 when the government claimed it is trying to mitigate the impact of rising prices of petroleum products on the world market on consumers in Ghana.
The restoration of this levy is therefore expected to shoot petroleum products to almost GHC 8 per little from the current levels nearing GHC 7 per litre.
A statement issued by the NPA said “We hereby, wish to inform all Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) and LPG Marketing Companies (LPGMC) that effective 1 February 2022, the PSRL on petrol, diesel, and LPG have been fully restored …”
The petroleum regulator continued: “All Oil Marketing Companies (OMC’s) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Companies (LPGMs) are to take note of the above and apply them in their PBU accordingly.”
It is difficult to reconcile the government’s excuse now with what it gave in October 2021, particularly when the reintroduction of the PRL defies the fact that crude oil prices are continuing to rise on the world market.
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has already said the prices of petroleum products are expected to increase at various pumps across the country due to an upsurge in the prices of the commodity on the international market.
But, the reintroduction of the PSL would significantly overshoot the hikes anticipated by industry experts.
Other critics think the government is simply desperate to source revenue from all avenues at all costs, particularly when it is becoming increasingly apparent that it will have a tough time convincing Ghanaians to part with an extra 1.75% of taxes on all their electronic transactions through the infamous E-Levy proposal.
The government says it banks all its hopes on squeezing some GHC 7 billion annually from the e-levy, but the massive resistance the policy is experiencing from Ghanaians is forcing the Akufo Addo government to have a rethink and perhaps consider less conspicuous avenues like the PSL to extract its revenues.
Recently, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Transport Minister Kwasi Amoako Atta hinted that the government is likely to reintroduce the road tolls which its scrapped last year.
This syncs with suspicions from critics that the government is desperate to pick up crumbs to make up for its revenue challenges.