The price of Petroleum products will go up by 5.7% in the coming days, Caretaker Finance Minister Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu told Parliament today during the 2021 budget presentation.

“I should note that on the basis of existing world crude oil prices, the implementation of the two proposed levies for sanitation and pollution as well as to pay for excess capacity charges would result in a 5.7% increase in petroleum prices at the pump,” he said.

He said the COVID pandemic has thrown the government’s budget out of gear hence the need to use other means to cushion the finances of the state.

New Levies Coming

Government is introducing a Covid-19 Health Levy of 1% on Vat, Flat Rate Scheme (VFRS) and a 1% on National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) as part of revenue measures to help the economy recover.

The Suame lawmaker said the levy “will also assist in the construction of 33 major health projects, the recruitment of more health professionals and agenda 111.”

Agenda 111 would see the construction of 100-bed capacity district hospitals in one hundred and one districts with no hospitals. It is the latest ever investment in healthcare infrastructure in Ghana’s history and a massive vision by the Akufo-Addo led administration for Ghana’s Healthcare sector.