The Minority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has firmly denied reports suggesting he supported the controversial GH₵1 “Dumsor Levy” on petroleum products, describing the claims as false and a gross misrepresentation of his statement in Parliament.
In a post on his official Facebook page, the Minority Leader addressed a video circulating on social media, which he said inaccurately portrays him as endorsing the levy during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
“I want to state unequivocally that at no point did I endorse the imposition of the Dumsor Levy. This claim is entirely false, What I did—and will continue to do—was to call for urgent reforms at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), reforms which the Energy Minister himself promised would be brought before Parliament,” he wrote.
He explained that his comments on the floor were focused on the deep-rooted structural problems facing ECG, particularly its inefficiencies in revenue collection and widespread power theft. According to him, a report he encountered during his tenure as ECG Board Chairman revealed that only about 30% of power users, both residential and industrial actually pay for the electricity they consume.
“Many others either lack proper meters or engage in illegal connections. That is the real crisis we must confront,” he emphasized.
Afenyo-Markin stressed the need for transparent parliamentary oversight and urged the Energy Minister to present the proposed reforms to Parliament rather than implementing them unilaterally through the executive branch.
He also commended the Minority for its firm resistance to the levy, noting that it had contributed to pushing the government to reconsider its approach.
He called on the public and media to focus on the fundamental issues plaguing the power sector rather than spreading politically motivated misinformation.
He threw his weight behind the continuation of the Loss Reduction Programme (LRP) introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration.
