Some businesses have lamented the decision by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to increase utility tariffs effective February 1.

The announcement by PURC is being kicked against by a section of the general public who say it will worsen an already difficult situation as, generally, the prices of goods and services have gone up.

According to these businesses, the increment in utility will put unnecessary burden on their cost of doing business. They explained that it will only necessitate in the transfer of that cost on consumers.

Interacting with Vaultz News, Michael Gyamfi, a pure water manufacturer, revealed that he will certainly feel the impact of the increment as his main material for his line of work is water and electricity. He indicated that currently, the high cost of materials such as plastics and other purifiers used in the production of pure water has more than doubled in the last year.

“I think it’s quite unfortunate that even in the midst of the current economic crisis, government deems it necessary to increase utility tariffs. It was just last year that they increased it so why this early again into the year. The truth is that it may likely force some of us out of business as we are only trying to break even now just to stay in business.”
Michael Gyamfi

Expressing her disappointment in the decision taken by the PURC, Martha, a local food vendor, stated her misgivings about the directive. She noted that the prices of foodstuffs have gone up astronomically and owing to that, the plating of her meals to customers have been affected by it.

Martha highlighted that the other “burden” of water and electricity increment is not good for people like her as she would have to explain to her customers since it will likely affect how she serves her food.

“My clients who patronize me always complain about how they now have to pay double to eat to their satisfaction. Although they understand the current situation, it doesn’t change the fact that things are hard and now they have to contend with this as well. For me, I think the increment in utility tariffs now is unnecessary.”
Martha

Government entreated to intervene in utility tariffs increment

The beauty industry isn’t left out of the impact of the increment as Rejoice Arthur, a hairdresser, explained that government is just being “insensitive” to the plight of Ghanaians and businessowners at large. She reckoned that prices of things in the market has gone up and it seems government wants to just add to their “misery”.

“The high consumption of electricity, especially with the hair dryers I use for my business will only mean that I have to pay more than I usually will to carry out the same task. Productivity will definitely be affected because already, my clients are finding other ways of washing their hair at home and only visit the salon when it requires an expert touch. This has affected my profit so much for months now.”
Rejoice Arthur

Meanwhile, Jonathan Tetteh, a cold store operator, has expressed his reservations on the increment. He revealed that government for this year alone has increased VAT which is yet to be properly assimilated by Ghanaians, and now the increment in utility tariffs will put most people like him out of business.

“You know, I don’t understand the reason why the PURC finds ways of increasing electricity charges and on what basis? I have had enough of this government and their ways of skimming off Ghanaians. We are not fools to work and use all the profit to pay bills.”
Jonathan Tetteh

Mr Tetteh urged government to “call PURC to order” as the increment is not the only way to save the country from its economic woes. He stated that the government must find innovative ways to ameliorate the plight of Ghanaians and not tax people unnecessarily.

“It is well within the right of a government to manage the affairs of the country but not to the detriment of small businesses like ours, especially as we are the very people they swore to help and create a conducive environment to thrive.”
Jonathan Tetteh