NPP questions GH₵2 diesel cut, says fuel prices still higher than January 2025

*The New Patriotic Party (NPP)* says the government’s GH₵2.00 per litre reduction in diesel prices does not reverse the overall increase in fuel costs, and is asking for clarity on how the intervention is being funded.

At a press conference on Tuesday, August 5, addressed by *Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, MP and Chairman of the NPP Policy Coordination Committee*, the party linked the diesel cut to the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill passed in July and the World Bank’s recent downgrade of Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Program.

*What the GH₵2.00 reduction really is*

The NPP said on August 3, 2026 GOIL quoted petrol at GH₵15.99 per litre and diesel at GH₵19.26 per litre. In January 2025, petrol was around GH₵15.13 and diesel around GH₵15.49.

Despite the cedi strengthening from about GH₵14.70 to GH₵11.67 to the dollar over the same period, petrol is still about 5.7% higher and diesel about 24.3% higher than in January 2025.

*“Even if the full GH₵2.00 reduction is passed through to the pump, diesel would still stand about 11.4% above its January 2025 level. So let us be accurate about what this intervention is. It cushions part of the increase that has already happened. It does not reverse it,”* the party stated.

*The levy and the cost*

The NPP recalled that in June 2025 government passed the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill with a certificate of urgency, imposing an additional GH₵1.00 on every litre of petroleum products. The party said consumers have paid that extra GH₵1.00 for over a year, while the current GH₵2.00 cut applies only to diesel and only for one month.

It estimated the cumulative cost of government’s 2026 fuel interventions at about GH₵1.3 billion, with the latest one-month diesel measure alone accounting for roughly GH₵400 million in foregone revenue.

*“There is no free relief. The only question is who pays, and when,”* the statement said.

On the new GH₵1.69 increase in the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on fuel oil passed last Friday, the NPP said the anti-evasion goal is legitimate but government has not published details on refunds, who qualifies, or how they will be financed.

*World Bank downgrade*

The party cited the World Bank’s June 2026 downgrade of Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Program from “Moderately Satisfactory” to “Unsatisfactory.” Combined losses of ECG and NEDCo, it said, rose from $1.257 billion in 2022 to $1.517 billion by May 2026.