Former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has called on the government to suspend or abolish recent increases in fuel taxes. He argues that its current relief measure is not enough while diesel still sells for close to GH¢19 per litre.
“What we need now is a comprehensive intervention by the government,” Dr. Amin Adam said in a post on the country’s fuel prices. He noted that diesel is currently selling between GH¢17.55 and GH¢18.99 despite the government’s GH¢2 relief.
He urged the government to consider “reviewing down the taxes on fuel especially by suspending the recent fuel tax increases or abolishing them completely, the same way the NPP did to provide significant relief to Ghanaians.”
Dr. Amin Adam explained that Ghana’s pump prices come from a straightforward formula: the international product price multiplied by the exchange rate, plus taxes, levies and margins. Because Ghana is “essentially a price-taker” in the global petroleum market, he said, taxes and exchange-rate management are the main levers in government hands.
“When international prices rise, the landed cost of fuel rises. When the cedi depreciates, the domestic cost rises further. When the cedi strengthens, it can cushion part of the external shock,” he wrote.
He maintained that this transmission mechanism “did not suddenly appear in January 2025,” adding: “It existed under Akufo-Addo and Bawumia. It exists under Mahama.”
The former minister argued that the government’s response so far has been undermined by its own policies. He pointed to the GH¢1 per litre levy on fuel, higher levies on fuel oil, and the cedi’s 12 percent depreciation this year.
“If exchange-rate management was the responsibility of government then, it remains the responsibility of government today,” he stated.
