The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Policy Committee on Energy has warned that the current fuel pricing approach could plunge Ghana’s energy sector into a new debt crisis. The committee said the government’s GH¢2‑per‑litre diesel intervention is financed by suspending statutory margins that support the petroleum downstream sector, while still collecting taxes and levies on petroleum products.
According to the committee, the arrangement is costing the downstream sector more than GH¢500 million a month, rising to nearly GH¢683 million when the implied support to the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) is included. The statement added that GH¢2.076 billion has already been withheld from BOST, distributors, fuel markers and the UPPF across April, May, August and September 2026, none of which has been replaced.
The NPP cautioned that continued withholding of statutory margins could lead to deferred maintenance, supplier arrears and institutional borrowing, creating a growing debt burden within the petroleum sector. “In plain words, Government is accumulating debt to BOST and other key players under the guise of ‘intervention’,” the committee said.
It argued that the current policy mirrors the conditions that contributed to Ghana’s previous energy sector debt crisis, where obligations were left standing while revenue meant to meet them was diverted. The committee also noted that pressure on fuel prices is not easing, citing rising crude oil and international petroleum product prices as well as a weakening cedi.
Crude oil prices have risen from US$92.11 to US$98.18 per barrel, while international petrol prices increased by 14.57 percent, diesel by 4.85 percent and LPG by 13.47 percent for the September 16 to 30 pricing window. The committee warned that these developments could force the government to increase the amount used to maintain the fuel intervention, potentially pushing diesel prices above GH¢18 per litre at the pump.
The NPP urged the government to suspend taxes and levies on fuel and restore the statutory margins supporting the downstream sector. It cited the 2026 Budget’s crude oil benchmark of US$76.22 per barrel, compared with higher crude prices during the current crisis, and estimated that the government could have generated an additional GH¢8 billion to GH¢9 billion in revenue.
The committee concluded that the current intervention is becoming increasingly expensive while offering less protection to consumers. “Government therefore faces a trap of its own making. Keep the GH¢2, and incur a downstream ‘debt’ of more than GH¢500 million every month. Remove it, and consumers absorb the international increase and the restored GH¢2 at the same time,” the statement said.
The NPP called on the government to restore the suspended statutory margins, publish the cost of the fuel intervention, and suspend taxes and levies on petroleum products for the duration of the current crisis. “Restore the margins. Publish the cost. Stop digging the hole. Suspend the taxes,” the statement concluded.
