The Center for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) says it will petition the United Nations, the world health organization and other sustainable energy organizations against the decision by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to charge US$80 per metric tonne of LPG purchased.
According to CEMSE, the continuous imposition of the charge undermines the country’s ability to meet the SDG targets and the fight against climate change.
The executive director of CEMSE, Benjamin Nsiah who addressed a press conference in Accra on Thursday (23 May), alleged that the NPA has generated some US$4 million in revenue since the imposition of the US$80 per metric ton tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption from 1 April 2024
He has, therefore, charged the NPA to disclose the exact amount of money so far accrued out of the imposition of the US$80 dollar per metric tonne of LPG charge.
In this regard, CEMSE also wants Parliament to suspend the LI 2481 that imposed the charge on LPG BDCS to help implement the cylinder recirculation model.
But the downstream petroleum sector regulator has justified the imposition of the US$80/mt tax to invest in cylinder manufacturing.
However, CEMSE says this makes the consumer pay over 100 times the cost of a cylinder. It says because the average lifespan of an LPG cylinder is 10 years, consumers will be paying between GHC365 and GHC700 for a 5kg cylinder which is currently sold at GHC120.
Moreover, the LPG Marketers Association of Ghana views the new tax as regressive, hindering investment, discouraging competition and imposing higher costs on consumers. This, the association argues, will reduce accessibility to clean cooking fuel for Ghanaian households.
The current LPG penetration rate in Ghana stands at 36%, significantly below the government’s target of achieving a 50% penetration rate by 2030.
Nsiah contended that the present tax structure directly contradicts the 50% objective.
Listen to Benjamin Nsiah in the audio below:
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