Former Finance Minister Calls for Fuel Tax Cuts as Diesel Prices Remain High
Former Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Karaga, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has called on the government to reduce taxes and levies on petroleum products to ease the rising cost of fuel in the country.
He says the temporary two-cedi-per-litre relief on diesel is insufficient, as prices remain between 17 cedis 55 pesewas and 18 cedis 99 pesewas per litre.
On August 3, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama directed the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to absorb GH¢2.00 per litre of diesel. Originally intended as a one-month temporary relief mechanism, the government officially extended this GH¢2.00 subsidy through September 2026.
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In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Sunday, September 27, 2026, Dr. Amin Adam urged the government to suspend or abolish recent fuel tax increases, arguing that a comprehensive intervention is needed to provide meaningful relief to consumers and businesses.
He said the current relief has been partly offset by other charges imposed on petroleum products.
“The NDC’s current GH¢2 relief on diesel is temporary and, worse of all, it is quasi-fiscal as it only cut margins for BOST and UPPF, weakening the petroleum sector resilience.”
The former Finance Minister also cited a one-cedi-per-litre fuel levy and increases in levies on fuel oil as factors that have reduced the impact of the relief.
He further blamed the depreciation of the cedi, which he said had weakened the benefits of the intervention.
Dr. Amin Adam maintained that international oil prices, exchange rates and taxes all influence domestic fuel prices, insisting that these factors were equally relevant when the NPP was in government.
The MP for Karaga accused the NDC of applying inconsistent standards in its criticism of fuel price increases, recalling that the party blamed the previous NPP administration for rising prices in 2021.
“If global oil prices and geopolitical shocks deserve consideration today, they deserved consideration in 2021.”
Dr. Amin Adam also defended the previous NPP administration’s fuel pricing policies, citing reductions in the Special Petroleum Tax, the abolition of the excise tax on fuel and the Gold for Oil programme.
He said these measures provided relief to consumers, adding that the government must now consider similar tax interventions to address the current situation.
He maintained that temporary relief measures alone would not be enough to bring down fuel prices significantly.
See and Read full statement here:
