The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has criticised government’s decision to impose a new GH¢1 levy on petroleum products.

He called it an unjust burden on struggling Ghanaians and a reckless move that fails to address the real rot within the country’s governance system.

His comments come in the wake of Parliament’s approval of the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on June 3, which introduces the new tax ostensibly to tackle ballooning energy sector debts and stabilise electricity supply.

But in a strongly worded Facebook post, Mr. Braimah questioned the logic of demanding more from citizens when billions have already been lost through unchecked corruption, waste, and elite excesses.

“Resetting Ghana shouldn’t be about imposing new taxes on the poor to continue to enrich elite and privileged looters,” he wrote. “It should be about curbing the huge waste and massive looting in all sectors.”

He pointed out that in the last few years alone, Ghana has lost over GH¢38 billion due to government inefficiencies and corruption.

“We should be focusing on recovering all the over GHC38 billion that were lost in the last years to waste and looting,” Braimah urged. “Not piling more taxes on the weary shoulders of Ghanaians.”

He further challenged the government to account for past revenue generated from fuel-related taxes.

“Last year alone, total taxes paid by Ghanaians on fuel products was almost GHC26 billion,” he noted. “Where did all that money go to? What problems did it solve?”

Despite these staggering figures, Braimah lamented that government still claims it needs over $3 billion to resolve the country’s energy sector issues.

“Why should Ghanaians trust a system that consumes GH¢26 billion in taxes in a year and still comes back asking for more with no answers?” he questioned.

Mr. Braimah also raised fresh alarm about ongoing mismanagement within the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), warning that the scale of corruption there is already eclipsing previous scandals.

“By the way,” he added, “the scandal at the NPA is far bigger than the NSS scandal. Millions already gone in quarter one of 2025.”

He called for a complete reset of the country based on transparency, recovery of lost funds, and a shift from punishing citizens to holding elites accountable.

“We don’t need new taxes. We need accountability. We need leadership that serves, not one that loots,” Braimah concluded.