MINORITY in Parliament has criticized government for failing to honour its promise of scrapping energy sector levies to reduce prices of electricity.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damongo, Adam Mutawakilu the 3% reduction in energy sector levies stated in the 2017 budget was woefully inadequate and would result in only a minimal effect on consumers.
Contributing to the debate on the 2017 Budget Statement on the floor of Parliament yesterday, Hon. Mutawikilu indicated that, the minimal reduction of public energy levy would not have any positive effect in the life of consumers.
“The Minister of Energy when he was being vetted…stated that his special focus was on lifeline consumers. When you take the lifeline consumers, they are consumers who consume between zero and 50 units in kilowatt hours. Government in its 2017 Budget Statement reduced the Public Lighting Levy from 5 percent to 2 percent and further reduced the “National Electrification Scheme Levy from 5 percent to 3 percent,” he said.
According to him, the highest any lifeline consumer will use would amount to GHc17.77 in a month. However, the public lighting levy and national electrification levy amount to only GHc1.64.
The MP for Damongo, further explained, “when you reduce that amount (GHc1.64) by 2 percent and 3 percent respectively; you are only giving the highest unit consumed by lifeline consumer 84 pesewas.”
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