The removal of the subsidy is part of the country’s regulatory measures to ensure downstream sector stability.
The Ghana National Petroleum Authority has announced the removal of the country’s fuel subsidy.
The removal of the subsidy is part of the country’s regulatory measures to ensure downstream sector stability.
This is just as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also urged the Nigerian government to deliver on its commitment to remove fuel subsidies by mid-2023.
Abdul Hamid, NPA’s Chief Executive Officer, stated this during a presentation at the ongoing Africa Refiners and Distributors Week 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Hamid said the Ghanaian government, through the NPA, had also removed energy subsidies.
According to Punch, he said, “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.”
He stated that the plans were put in place in response to global oil and petrol market volatility caused by the Russian-Ukraine war and energy transition policies.
“For the first time in 30 years, we have installed fuel caps as a measure to intervene and to control market instability,” he disclosed.
The NPA, according to Hamid, has also established a special fund to assist refineries in increasing their capacity to 50 barrels of oil in order to meet the country’s growing demand.
Meanwhile, the IMEF reminded the Nigerian government to deliver on its commitment to remove fuel subsidies by mid-2023.
The Washington-based lender in a report titled “IMF Executive Board Concludes 2022 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria” released on Wednesday said Nigeria’s economy had recouped the output losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic supported by favourable oil prices and buoyant consumption activities.
The fund said the directors highlighted the need for bold fiscal reforms to create needed policy space, put public debt on sound footing, and reduce vulnerabilities.