Businesses in Ghana are warning of fresh cost pressures as the government prepares to introduce a new one-cedi-per-litre fuel levy on July 16. For the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), the move highlights a longstanding problem with how such taxes are designed, implemented, and rarely, if ever, removed.
The Chamber argues that while the government needs to raise revenue, it is doing so in a manner that risks eroding the fragile gains businesses have made in recent months. After a period of high inflation and rising input costs, companies had begun to enjoy some relief from falling global fuel prices and an appreciating cedi. Now, GNCCI says, the new levy threatens to undermine that progress.
“The timing is simply not good,” said Mark Badu-Aboagye, Chief Executive of GNCCI, in an interview with The High Street Journal. “All of us were just starting to see fuel prices come down. Then suddenly you introduce a new one-cedi-per-litre charge that will immediately increase transport costs, production costs, and ultimately prices in the market.”
He explained that for many businesses, particularly manufacturers and logistics firms, fuel is a critical input cost. Even small changes in pump prices can ripple through their operations, raising delivery fees, raw material costs, and ultimately the prices paid by consumers.
But GNCCI’s concern goes beyond the immediate hit to businesses’ cashflow. The Chamber is especially troubled by the fact that there is no sunset clause, no clear commitment on when or whether the tax will be removed once the government has met its revenue needs.
“That is our biggest problem,” Badu-Aboagye said. “We have seen this so many times before in Ghana. Taxes are introduced as ‘temporary’ measures, but they end up staying forever. They just change the name and keep collecting it. We don’t want to see that happen with this fuel levy.”
Indeed, Ghana’s tax history is littered with levies that were supposed to be time-bound but have become a permanent feature of the tax landscape. For GNCCI, this undermines trust between government and the private sector, and makes long-term planning harder.
The Chamber is calling for a complete re-think of the levy’s design. Instead of imposing a full one-cedi increase all at once, GNCCI believes a phased introduction at a much lower starting point would have been fairer and less disruptive.
“Even if the government has to do it, it could have started with something like 2 pesewas, 50 pesewas per litre,” Badu-Aboagye suggested. “That would give businesses time to adapt, rather than suddenly pushing costs up so sharply.”
Beyond the rate itself, GNCCI is urging policymakers to introduce clear, legally enforceable sunset clauses in any such levy. That, they argue, would reassure the business community that the government is serious about fiscal discipline and does not intend to make emergency taxes a permanent burden.
“We’re not saying the government shouldn’t raise revenue,” Badu-Aboagye clarified. “But you have to do it transparently and fairly. Put in a sunset clause so that when the purpose is achieved, it goes away. Don’t make it permanent without telling the people.”
As the July 16 implementation date approaches, businesses across Ghana are preparing for higher costs. Transport operators, manufacturers, food processors, and retailers alike fear that these will eventually be passed on to consumers, complicating efforts to keep inflation in check.
For GNCCI, it is yet another reminder of the broader need for a consistent, predictable policy environment if Ghana hopes to build a competitive private sector.
