George Kwame Aboagye is the Member of Parliament for Asene/Manso/Akroso
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye, has accused the John Dramani Mahama led government of sneaking the GH¢1 fuel levy through Parliament and betraying the trust of Ghanaians.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, June 9, 2025, the Member of Parliament for Asene/Manso/Akroso criticised the government for ignoring public sentiments and reversing its own commitments.
“Since Tuesday, June 9, when this levy was sneaked into Parliament and hardly passed, we have embarked on a number of engagements aimed at drawing the attention of the government to this very painful period.
“From the onset, we would like to put on record our astonishment that this government, in a 360-degree turn around and in stark contrast to all its promises, has in less than six months imposed on Ghanaians the very levy they swore they never will,” he stated.
He referenced a statement made by Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson during the 2025 Budget presentation on March 11, 2025, where he assured the nation that taxes would not be used to pay for energy sector debts.
“Even NDC members and civil society actors are shocked that so quickly the government has done the very thing it swore Heaven and earth it will never do, this is hypocrisy of the highest order. This is a betrayal of the public trust,” he remarked.
He further accused the government of taking the goodwill of Ghanaians for granted and deliberately misleading the electorate to secure political power.
“This government knew all the details about the energy sector challenges and made specific promises to Ghanaians on it. They did so knowing very well they had no intention of fulfilling them,” he added.
Parliament has approved the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introducing a GH¢1 levy on petroleum products.
It is intended to raise additional revenue to address the nation’s crippling energy sector debt and ensure stable power supply, was passed late today, Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who laid the bill under a certificate of urgency, stated that the energy sector’s total indebtedness stands at US$3.1 billion as of March 2025.
JKB/AE
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