The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has expressed appreciation to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for their willingness to dialogue with the government over the controversial fuel levy, leading to its postponed implementation.
Speaking on TV3's New Day - The Big Issue, Tameklo explained that the Ghana Revenue Authority's (GRA) decision to delay the rollout of the levy from June 9 to June 16 followed fruitful discussions with stakeholders in the oil marketing industry." What this has done is that constructive engagement has helped to avert what would have become an industry problem, he stated. "And that is why I want to thank the Oil Marketing Companies for agreeing with government that instead of the implementation starting today, June 9, we will postpone it to June 16. "Tameklo acknowledged that the OMCs had raised "very legitimate" concerns regarding the timing and practical implications of the new tax policy.
Once the issue was escalated to the Commissioner-General of the GRA and the Minister of Finance, it became clear that the concerns were valid." We realized that they have raised very legitimate [issues], and once the matter came to the Commissioner-General and the Finance Minister, they noticed that their concerns were perfect," Tameklo noted.
He praised the spirit of dialogue that led to the temporary halt, indicating that such engagements are critical for preserving stability in Ghana's petroleum sector.
