{"id":61553,"date":"2025-06-07T10:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T10:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=61553"},"modified":"2025-06-07T10:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T10:31:14","slug":"government-understands-public-disquiet-over-dumsor-levy-kwakye-ofosu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=61553","title":{"rendered":"Government understands public disquiet over Dumsor Levy \u2013 Kwakye Ofosu"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 13 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has acknowledged the widespread public dissatisfaction surrounding the newly introduced Dumsor Levy, assuring Ghanaians that the government is mindful of their concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 *Newsfile* programme on Saturday, 7 June, he stressed that the administration is not blind to the difficulties citizens continue to face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a government, we understand fully the disquiet that Ghanaians have expressed over the levy, considering the sufferings that they were subjected to by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government and the taxes that they piled on them,\u201d Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks come amid public backlash over the GH\u00a21 per litre surcharge on petroleum products, introduced under the Energy Sector Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who tabled the bill under a certificate of urgency, defended the measure by citing the energy sector\u2019s crippling debt burden.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the sector\u2019s total indebtedness stood at US$3.1 billion as of March 2025, with an estimated US$3.7 billion required to clear it, and a further US$1.2 billion needed to purchase fuel for thermal generation throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Minority Caucus in Parliament has condemned the levy, branding it a \u201cpredatory tax\u201d expected to cost households and businesses about GH\u00a25.7 billion annually.<\/p>\n<p>They argue the legislation was rushed through without adequate stakeholder engagement or transparency, and have demanded clarity on how the funds will be utilised.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"61553\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy          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government is mindful of their concerns. Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 *Newsfile* programme on Saturday, 7 June, he stressed that the administration is not blind to the difficulties citizens continue to face. \u201cAs a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-61553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}