The Ghanaian Government on Wednesday announced the phasing out of fuel subsidy regime in its fiscal measures to ensure stability and efficiency in the operations of the downstream sub-sector of the nation’s oil and gas industry.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, who broke this news during a presentation at the ongoing Africa Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) Week 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, also disclosed that his country had also removed energy subsidies through the NPA.
He clarified: “We have removed subsidies and deregulated our markets. Industries were shutting down because the government was finding it hard to find the money to provide subsidies and to this day industry is being powered by investments in the private sector and there are no complaints of supply.
“We are ensuring affordability and security for the vulnerable consumers through the removal of energy subsidies”, Hamid added.
According to him, the plans are put in place in response to global oil and petrol market volatility caused by the Russian-Ukraine war and energy transition policies.
The industry expert explained that for the first time in 30 years, the government installed fuel caps as a measure to intervene and to control market instability.
As a fiscal impact mitigating measures, Hamid hinted that the NPA had also established a special fund to assist refineries in increasing their capacity to 50 barrels of oil in order to meet the growing market demand.
