A Development Economist and Director at the West African Centre for Sustainable Rural Transformation at the University for Development Studies Dr Michael Ayamga Adongo has expressed worry about the imposition of a GHC 100 annual tax on petrol and diesel vehicles as part of measures to promote the use of eco-friendly sources of energy to power vehicles.
The emissions tax is part of government’s efforts towards improving environmental management and controlling general levels of air and water pollution.
The government, in the 2024 budget, announced a waiver of import duties on import of electric vehicles ostensibly to encourage the use of electric vehicles over petrol and diesel vehicles.
But speaking on Tamale-based Neesim FM’s Current Affairs Program, ISSUES AT HAND, Dr Ayamga posits that the emissions tax is counterintuitive and does not make sense.
“I am more worried about the emissions tax because that is counterintuitive and doesn’t make any sense. If you read the narrative that accompanies that tax, it is designed to cause Ghanaians to adopt more sustainable behaviours by going in for electric vehicles. Normally when you want to use tax as a factor for causing people to behave in a way, the alternative is usually already in place and people are refusing, then you try to make the other goods more expensive,” he explained.
He argued that the right structures have not yet been put in place to facilitate the adoption of e-vehicles in Ghana.
“You have to have an enabling environment for the other alternative to exist before you can force people to go into it. As we speak now, we do not have a market of E-vehicles in Ghana. We do not have the infrastructure.
Before you can introduce E-vehicles, first you need elaborate energy system. Their batteries are the key problems. So, households have to have a charging system and then you have to have a network of charging infrastructure across the country,” he stated.
The economics lecturer also said the timing of the imposition of the tax contradicts government’s own Electric Vehicle Policy.
Explaining aspects of the EV policy, Dr Ayamga said the implementation is in three phases which spans 2024 to 2045 around which time the country would have fully adopted e-vehicles and petrol or diesel vehicles banned.
He said the first phase, as outlined in the policy is the preparatory phase which spans between 2024 and 2026 and will address the challenges and barriers to electric vehicle uptake.
“Is tax a way of addressing the challenges of electric vehicle [uptake]?” he quizzed, adding that “the decision to introduce the emissions tax is against the policy the president flew to Dubai to go and launch.”
The second phase which spans 2027 to 2035 will ensure the successful take up of e-vehicles in Ghana with a target of 35% EV penetration.
The third phase is from 2036 to 2045. During this phase efforts will be made to ensure that by 2045 no new petrol or diesel vehicle will be sold or imported into the country.
Dr Ayamga concludes that the emissions tax will not compel people to resort to electric vehicles until the right structures are put in place.