The New Patriotic has questioned the financing and sustainability of the government’s announced GH¢2 per litre reduction in diesel prices, arguing that the intervention could create a new fiscal burden if its revenue implications are not clearly accounted for.
The party raised the concerns at a press conference on August 5, 2026, focusing on the government’s diesel price intervention, the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the World Bank’s downgrade of Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Programme.
The NPP said the GH¢2 reduction, while offering temporary relief to consumers, does not fully reverse the increase in fuel prices recorded over the past 18 months.
According to the party, GOIL was selling petrol at GH¢15.99 per litre and diesel at GH¢19.26 per litre on August 3, compared with about GH¢15.13 for petrol and GH¢15.49 for diesel in January 2025.
It noted that although the cedi had strengthened from about GH¢14.70 to GH¢11.67 to the US dollar over the same period, petrol remained about 5.7% more expensive and diesel about 24.3% higher.
“Even if the full GH¢2.00 reduction is passed through to the pump, diesel would still stand about 11.4% above its January 2025 level.”
The NPP said the relief should therefore be viewed as a temporary cushioning measure rather than a reversal of the increases consumers have experienced.
The party also questioned the financial implications of reducing the regulatory margin to fund the diesel price intervention.
It estimated that the one-month measure could result in about GH¢400 million in forgone revenue, based on an earlier diesel relief programme that it said cost GH¢800 million over two months.
When combined with an earlier GH¢99.4 million petrol relief intervention, the NPP put the cumulative cost of the stated 2026 interventions at approximately GH¢1.3 billion.
“There is no free relief. The only question is who pays, and when.”
The party argued that if the intervention is not provided for in the 2026 budget, it could widen the government’s financing gap or create arrears in the petroleum supply chain if payments owed to industry are deferred.
The NPP also criticised the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which Parliament passed on July 31.
According to the party, the amendment increased the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on fuel oil by GH¢1.69 per litre, from GH¢0.24 to GH¢1.93, while also extending the Road Fund Levy to fuel oil.
The government has said the amendment is intended to close a misclassification loophole that cost an estimated $25 million between January and June 2026 and provides for refunds to eligible industrial users within 14 days.
The NPP said while the anti-evasion objective was legitimate, the refund mechanism had not yet been fully outlined.
It questioned who would administer the refunds, who would qualify, how the refunds would be financed and what would happen to rejected claims.
The party also raised concerns about consumers who may have already borne the cost of the levy through prices.
“Where a company embeds the upfront levy in its prices and is later refunded, the company recovers its money, but the consumer who bore the passed-on cost does not.”
The NPP linked its concerns to the World Bank’s reported downgrade of Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Programme from “Moderately Satisfactory” to “Unsatisfactory” in June 2026.
It said combined losses of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) had risen from $1.257 billion in 2022 to $1.517 billion by May 2026, against a 2027 target of $525 million.
The party attributed the deterioration, as cited in the document, to stalled reforms, delayed procurement and weak governance.
It argued that Ghana’s energy-sector debt and arrears problem could not be solved by creating new revenue losses.
Other questions concern how the relief will translate into lower transport fares and prices of essential goods, whether the GH¢1 per litre levy will remain at its full rate during the relief period, and whether costs previously transferred to consumers will be refunded.
The NPP said it supports measures aimed at protecting citizens but called for interventions that are fiscally sustainable.
It proposed publication of the full petroleum price build-up and financing source before implementation, as well as a disclosed fiscal cap on the intervention.
The party also called for targeted relief for public transport, food distribution, agriculture and fishing instead of an indefinite universal subsidy.
It wants automatic sunset clauses tied to objective crude oil price and exchange-rate triggers and urged government to settle industry claims promptly to prevent the relief programme from generating new arrears.
“Compassion without fiscal discipline is not sustainable policy.”
The party said its Members of Parliament would file urgent questions seeking details of the financing source and budgetary provision for the GH¢2 diesel relief.
It also said its Policy Coordinating Committee would monitor energy-sector levy collections, refunds paid to industry and pump-price movements against the exchange rate and publish the information monthly.
