The Institute for Energy Security (IES) is asking the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to withdraw the new margins on petroleum products to give respite to Ghanaians amidst the covid-19 hardship in the country.
Some amended margins have been made available to the various Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs) on April 29, 2021, ahead of the second Pricing window that will take effect in May.
The amended margins include the BOST Margin, the Primary Distribution Margin (PDM), Fuel Marking Margin (FMM) and the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) Margin.
For the UPPF Margin, GHp3 per litre is added on all liquid products except for Premix fuel, MGO Foreign, Gasoil Mines, Gasoil Rig, plus addition of GHp3 per kilograms on LPG.
The PDM has also been increased to GHp11 per litre of Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene. The Fuel Marking Scheme has seen an increment of up to 167% from GHp3.00 per litre to GHp8.00 per litre for all liquid products.
The BOST Margin has also recorded an increment of 100% from GHp6 to GHp12 per litre. This new increase for BOST is coming on the back of an initial 100% increase, from GHp3 to GHp6 per litre barely eleven (11) months ago.
As a result of the amended margins, petroleum products will from Saturday, May 1, 2021, see an increase in prices.
In a press release from the IES on the latest development, it find the new amendments in the various Margins as a nuisance and insensitive to the Ghanaian petroleum consumer, particularly as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still felt by the majority of Ghanaians.
It noted that consumers are already burdened with several taxes, in the face of job losses, salary cuts, and collapse of businesses et cetera; following the pandemic and hence it is therefore inappropriate for the government to lay more burdens on citizens through fuel margins.
Stressing that there are no justifications for the increases, the IES is calling on the government to immediately withdraw the new levies through the NPA.
“The action by government through the National Petroleum Authority can best be described as miscalculated, insensitive, careless and inconsiderate, looking at the times the country is going through.
“IES is therefore calling in the government and the NPA to immediately withdraw the increased levies on the UPPF, margin, PDM, FMM, and the BOST margin, to alleviate the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian citizen,” the IES release signed by Executive Director Nana Amoasi VII reads.
Below is the full press release:
