A natural resource governance expert is urging the government to immediately suspend the National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA) ban on selective fuel discounts, warning the directive strips consumers of their cheapest pump prices at the worst possible moment.
Dr. Steve Manteaw said the timing of the NPA’s move, which takes effect on 16 March, is dangerously out of step with a global oil market already rattled by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“This directive ought to be reconsidered in the interest of containing the potential effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict on consumers. In fact, the government should be considering the suspension of some taxes on petroleum products to stem potential price hikes,” Dr. Manteaw said.
The NPA directive closes the regulatory provision that allowed companies including GOIL and Star Oil to offer lower prices at designated stations. From 16 March, all Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies (LPGMCs) must charge identical prices at every outlet in their networks, ending a price war that had been pushing pump prices down in many urban areas.
Petrol currently sells at a minimum of GH¢10.46 per litre and diesel at GH¢11.42 for the March 1 to 15 pricing window. Discounted stations had still been offering petrol at the floor price of GH¢10.46 as of Monday, a benefit that disappears under the new rules.
Dr. Manteaw said history shows that when conflict disrupts Middle East supply routes, crude prices spike and pump prices follow. Transport fares, food costs and general inflation tend to move in the same direction. Removing competitive discounting precisely when that risk is highest, he argued, eliminates the one mechanism currently moderating prices for drivers, traders and transport operators.
Beyond suspending the directive, he called on the government to consider a temporary reduction in petroleum levies, noting that even a modest adjustment could provide meaningful relief if crude prices surge further.
The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies, Dr Riverson Oppong, took a different view, insisting the NPA had not scrapped discounting but corrected a long-standing regulatory error. He said the public narrative around the directive had been misleading.
The NPA has scheduled a meeting with all OMCs and LPGMCs on 11 March to clarify the revised guidelines ahead of the implementation date.
