The Minority in Parliament has dismissed the government’s GH¢2 per litre reduction in diesel prices as a short-term intervention, insisting it should not be portrayed as a generous relief package for Ghanaians.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, August 5, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye, argued that the measure fails to restore fuel prices to the levels consumers enjoyed at the beginning of 2025. He maintained that motorists and businesses have already absorbed significant costs through petroleum-related levies introduced over the past year.
According to Mr. Aboagye, the reduction only reverses a small portion of the increases experienced in recent months.
“A two-cedi reduction is not generosity. It is a partial, temporary return of money already taken from consumers at midnight,” he said.
He explained that GOIL’s pump prices as of August 3, 2026, stood at GH¢15.99 per litre for petrol and GH¢19.26 for diesel, compared with approximately GH¢15.13 for petrol and GH¢15.49 for diesel in January 2025. He argued that, even after the reduction, diesel would still be selling well above its level when the current administration took office.
Mr. Aboagye also pointed to the appreciation of the cedi over the same period, noting that the exchange rate had improved from about GH¢14.70 to the US dollar in January 2025 to around GH¢11.67. Despite that improvement, he said, consumers continue to pay more for fuel than they did at the start of the government’s tenure.
The Minority MP further linked the current intervention to the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, passed under a certificate of urgency in June 2025, which introduced an additional GH¢1 levy on every litre of petroleum products. He recalled that the Minority opposed the legislation and staged a walkout during its passage.
According to him, government had assured Ghanaians that gains from the stronger cedi would cushion the impact of the levy, while projected revenue from the measure would help repay energy sector debts and improve electricity supply.
He argued, however, that consumers have continued to bear the burden of the levy and questioned whether a one-month diesel reduction adequately compensates for the additional costs they have paid over the past year.
Mr. Aboagye also called on government to disclose how the intervention would be financed. Although authorities have described the policy as a reduction in regulatory margins rather than a subsidy, he argued that the loss of revenue still carries financial implications for the state.
He estimated that the one-month diesel relief alone could result in approximately GH¢400 million in foregone revenue. Combined with earlier fuel price interventions, he projected the total cost of government support measures this year could approach GH¢1.3 billion.
The Ranking Member warned that unless the intervention had been budgeted for, it could place additional pressure on public finances and affect funding for other sectors, including road maintenance and energy debt repayments.
Mr. Aboagye also criticised Parliament’s recent approval of higher petroleum-related levies on fuel oil, saying government had not adequately explained how its proposed refund mechanism for eligible industrial users would operate. He expressed concern that businesses would initially absorb the additional costs and eventually transfer them to consumers through higher prices.
Touching on the energy sector more broadly, he referenced a June 2026 World Bank assessment which downgraded Ghana’s energy sector recovery programme from “moderately satisfactory” to “unsatisfactory.” He attributed the setback to delayed reforms, procurement challenges and governance issues, arguing that new revenue measures alone would not resolve the sector’s structural problems.
The Minority is therefore demanding further clarification from government on the policy, including the specific taxes or margins being adjusted to finance the diesel relief, whether the intervention has been catered for in the 2026 budget, how authorities intend to ensure transport fares and commodity prices reflect the reduction, whether the existing GH¢1 fuel levy will remain in force, and the conditions that will determine whether the relief is extended or withdrawn.
