Economist and public policy expert, Professor Patrick Asuming, has criticised government’s continuous reliance on taxes to fix recurring challenges in the energy sector, warning that such an approach is both unsustainable and unjust to the ordinary Ghanaian.
Speaking following Parliament’s approval of the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025—which introduces a GH¢1 per litre levy on petroleum products—Prof. Asuming questioned the rationale behind passing the financial burden onto consumers.
“You can’t have Ghanaians paying for the inefficiencies of those in the energy sector,” he stated bluntly, adding that “we can’t just keep pouring money into an empty hole.”
The amended levy, passed under a certificate of urgency on Tuesday, June 3, is expected to raise an additional GH¢5.7 billion annually to help pay down energy sector debts.
The Finance Minister argued that the strong performance of the cedi would cushion the impact of the new tax.
However, Prof. Asuming urged government to consider structural reforms and deliberate cost-saving measures, rather than what he sees as lazy revenue mobilisation tactics.
“There should have been a deliberate and strategic plan to cut waste and inefficiencies before imposing more levies on already burdened citizens,” he added.
His comments reflect growing political backlash to what opposition figures and civil society groups describe as a regressive tax policy that fails to tackle the root causes of mismanagement within the sector.
