The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has once again urged the Ghanaian government to abolish the 16% tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), arguing that lower prices would encourage wider adoption of the fuel and improve access for households.
The appeal was made by COMAC Board Chairman and Trinity Oil Managing Director, Gabriel Kumi, during a panel discussion at the 7th Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCon) in Accra.
Mr. Kumi pointed to Côte d’Ivoire as an example of how supportive government policies can drive LPG consumption. He noted that the country had removed taxes on LPG and introduced subsidies for rural households, helping annual consumption rise to about 700,000 metric tonnes, compared with Ghana’s estimated 350,000 metric tonnes.
According to him, although Ghana adopted LPG much earlier than Côte d’Ivoire, taxation has made the fuel less affordable and slowed its uptake.
He cited research indicating that eliminating taxes on LPG could increase domestic consumption by approximately 20%.
Mr. Kumi also expressed concern over the cost of refilling a 14.5-kilogram LPG cylinder, which currently stands at about GH¢250. He said the price places a heavy financial burden on many households, particularly low-income earners.
He argued that a worker earning around GH¢1,000 a month would need to spend nearly 25% of their monthly income to purchase a single cylinder refill.
In addition to removing taxes, Mr. Kumi called on government to introduce targeted LPG subsidies for rural communities to encourage the transition to cleaner cooking fuels.
He further recommended a review of the government’s free LPG cylinder and improved cookstove distribution programme to assess its effectiveness in achieving its intended objectives.
According to Mr. Kumi, efforts to distribute free cylinders would yield greater results if consumers could also afford to refill them regularly.