It was a pointed reminder from Dr. Kwabena Donkor, one that’s easy to overlook in the noise. Speaking on PM Express on Joy News, he defended the GH¢1 adjustment to the Energy Sector Levy passed by Parliament.
But not just that, he voiced the concern that raising money is not enough. Without structural reforms, the energy sector remains dangerously unbalanced.
“Increasing revenue dedicated to the legacy debt is just one leg,” he said. “The other leg will have to be to drive down cost in the power sector, to raise efficiency, and make sure that at the minimum, we break even.”
That’s the real story behind the GH¢1 levy added to petroleum products, passed by Parliament on June 3 and already stirring public frustration.
Not whether it’s new, not just where the money goes, but whether it’s being matched by the other leg, and in his view, reforms.
For years, the power sector has struggled to stay on its feet, weighed down by chronic under-recovery of costs and ballooning debt. And yet, each time liquidity tightens, the country leans again on revenue measures, hoping money alone will steady the system.
Dr. Donkor isn’t against the levy. In fact, he defended it. But one thing he made clear was that without structural change, without improving how the sector runs and spends, this move is only half a solution.
“If we don’t do that,” he warned, “we’ll keep adding to the debt… that figure will keep growing.”
A system cannot walk with one leg. Not for long. And Ghana’s energy sector has limped for too many years on stopgaps, surcharges, and slogans. It needs balance, funding matched with efficiency, cash supported by discipline.
“Raising money is only half the job,” Dr. Donkor said. “Efficiency and cost control are the other half. Without both, we’re back to square one.”
