The National Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government for introducing the controversial dumsor levy.
Mr. Ahiagbah described the new GH¢1 per litre fuel levy as a “lazy and incompetent” tax, accusing the government of lacking ideas to manage the country’s energy sector debt.
He referenced earlier comments made by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson at the National Economic Dialogue, where he stated that inefficiencies within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should not be rewarded through tariffs.
“A levy to reward ECG’s inefficiencies is lazy and incompetent and amounts to the abuse of the power to levy or tax citizens,” Ahiagbah wrote in a social media post on Thursday, June 5.
He added, “The D-levy is a lazy and incompetent tax imposed by a government that has no clue how to manage the debt issues in the energy sector, which it signed in President Mahama’s first term. The D-levy is a lazy, incompetent, and insensitive levy.”
His reaction follows the passage of the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2025, by Parliament on Tuesday, June 3, under a certificate of urgency.
The law introduces an additional GH¢1 charge on every litre of fuel purchased to help address mounting liabilities in the power sector.
The Minority staged a walkout before the bill’s approval, accusing the government of imposing more taxes on suffering Ghanaians.
But the government says Ghanaians will not feel the impact of the levy following the stability of the cedi.