The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI)’s attempt to petition the parliament select committee on Mines and Energy over the increase in utility tariffs by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) turns futile.
According to the GNCCI, the decision follows several appeals to the PURC to review the tariffs for large scale businesses since the current economic crisis is already biting hard on their operations.
Clement Osei Amoako, President of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that they will persist in advocating for a reduction in tariffs for their members after negotiations with PURC reached a stalemate.
“Laws are made by men. If it is gazetted, this is not the first time that prices have gone up and has not come down. We always make our voice known to them and sometimes, they look at the window and they will adher to that.
“Since government is the main stakeholder with these utility companies, there’s a way out that we can forge ahead to get it done. They will have to look at it. If we have to go back to parliament for them to look at it, we will do that. We will lobby from the parliamentary select committee and all those who matter to make sure that we will not keep to the price.”
Clement Amoako
In a quick come back on the challenge at hand, Chief Executive Secretary of the PURC, Dr. Ismael Ackah said nothing can be done about lowering the tariffs since according to him, the tariffs have already been gazetted and must take effect from February.
“These adjustments, the decision has been made and it has been gazette. It’s a law so for now, nothing can be done on the part of PURC. However, there will be other quarterly adjustments so what we are doing is to establish the protocols for engagement.
“Even before we engage the chamber, PURC on its own has put in measures to protect the industry. One of them was that, we have been able to reverse the structure for the first time for SMEs…”
Dr. Ackah
The petition comes after several complaints emerged from some employers and concerned citizens about the increased burden the recent increment of the tariffs on utility by PURC is likely to bring.
The PURC on Monday, January 15, 2023 increased electricity and water tariffs by 29.66% and 8.3% which would take effect from February 01, 2023.
People have expressed worry about this new developments, complaining that the proposed increment was going to affect their budget which had already been impacted by an increment in VAT and other taxes.
Some Complaints about The Increment on utility tariffs
Some small business owners and traders expressed their reservations about the latest increases in utility tariffs, saying it would impact them negatively as the new tariffs would invariably affect their budget.
“Schools just reopened and many of us have had to spend our resources on textbooks, school fees and other academic-related challenges. Cost of food remains very high, the new VAT has taken off and adding this tariff increment to our budget means we will be suffocating financially.”
Business owners and traders
Mohammed Awal, who is a teacher, also said that it was improper for the PURC to announce an increase in utility tariffs.
“People have their funds locked up (speaking about the plight of some individual bondholders) and we are not sure what is going to happen with the proposed domestic debt exchange programme and many people are all living on the edge. This plan to increase tariffs could make people snap. I don’t think this is the time to increase tariffs.”
Mr. Awal
Meanwhile, The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has described the level of utility tariff increments for water and electricity by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) as too high for industry to bear, particularly at this time.
“Indeed, the elements of the cross-subsidy are still embedded in our tariff structure and this current review does not seem to support PURC’s effort to correct this anomaly.”
AGI
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