22% of LPG price is all taxes – Gabriel Kumi

Taxes account for nearly a quarter (22 percent) of the cost for a kilo of LPG, according to the marketers of the product.

The Vice President of the LPG Marketers Association, Gabriel Kumi, has stated that repeated requests to the government to eliminate the taxes on LPG have been overlooked.

“I'm sure you have been following the LPG Marketing Companies Association activities. For the past seven years consistently and persistently we have called on the government to remove the taxes on LPG because we believe it doesn't make any sense to put taxes on LPG”, he told Joy News.

According to him, LPG is a product “countries like Côte d’Ivoire are subsidising to the tune of 20% to 25%. And, in fact, when I spoke to a colleague a few weeks ago, he couldn't believe LPG is expensive in Ghana. He said their association has written to their government to even increase the subsidies on LPG, while Ghana's LPG currently is one of the highest in the world”.

Mr. Kumi highlighted that the high price has deterred consumers.

“In 2019 /2020, the government set an objective to increase consumption of LPG from 25% penetration level to 50% by the year 2030 but so far it has failed”.

“We applauded the government and said, ‘Look, this is a laudable objective to set but you can't eat your cake and have it’. LPG is a product with a very high sensitivity. It's highly price-sensitive such that any pesewa put on the price of the product goes a long way to reduce consumption”, Mr Kumi said.

“So, when that objective was set, that was when the call for us to take off the taxes on LPG really began because we called the government and said look yes you have set such an objective but it will be counterproductive if, at the same time, you are putting taxes on the product which you want to increase its consumption”, he added.