Ghanaians must appreciate the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) for their swift intervention in the implementation of the new energy sector levy, since without them, prices of fuel at the pumps would have significantly skyrocketed, eroding the gains made so far.
COMAC has revealed that if the newly passed GH¢1 per litre energy sector levy had been implemented yesterday, June 9, fuel prices would have been significantly pushed up to GH¢14 per litre, sparking widespread economic pressure on Ghanaians.
Chief Executive Officer of COMAC, Dr. Riverson Oppong, says their intervention for a postponement, which has been accepted by the government has offered the industry players the opportunity to continue engagement with government and other stakeholders.
These continuous engagements, the CEO says, is in the best of interest of consumers. He says the industry raised has three urgent proposals to government to help mitigate the harsh effects of the levy and ensure that the full cost of the new charge is not imposed on consumers immediately.
“Believe me or not, this is going to help us in a long way. And I think it is going to help the government, Because if we were supposed to increase this today, prices would have hiked up to 14 cedis. And I don’t think that’s what the government is looking for,” Dr. Oppong revealed in an interview monitored by The High Street Journal adding.
COMAC further reiterated that they are never against the new levy. Describing it as a necessary evil, Dr. Oppong indicated that the levy is needed to address the energy sector challenges but a minimized impact on Ghanaians.
“It’s a necessary evil, but let’s all support each other and have stakeholder engagement,” he said.
Dr. Oppong assured that dialogue is already underway between COMAC, its members, and key government agencies. He said that the goal is to find a fair and sustainable approach to implementing the levy without burdening the ordinary Ghanaian.
“We have raised three proposals to the government, and we want to make sure that we don’t impose the full fees or the full cost of this GHC 1 on the ordinary Ghanaian. And that being said, our engagement already is in full wave. We have one week to make amendments where they need to be. And I believe that things will fall into place. And like I said, already by Thursday or Friday, we’re going to see how the next outlook will be,” maintained.
According to the CEO, if the Ghana cedi continues to perform well and industry forecasts hold, the impact of the new levy could be absorbed, or at least softened, without immediately raising pump prices.
However, he cautioned that if the currency weakens or fuel costs spike on the global market, the cost burden will inevitably be passed on to consumers.
He said, “If that goes down, or if the cedi does well in our forecasting, we might not even feel this impact. But if it doesn’t, COMAC and its members are going to surely, pass on the cost of this levy to the ordinary Ghanaian to pay.”
The new energy sector levy is set to take effect by June 16. Between now and then, COMAC is playing a key role in ensuring that the transition is not only smooth but also sensitive to the economic realities of consumers. The coming days will be critical as discussions continue on how best to cushion Ghanaians from potential fuel price hikes.
