The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has challenged the government’s reliance on tariff increments as a remedy for inefficiencies at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), insisting that the persistent financial setbacks of the two state utilities cannot be solved through higher charges on consumers.
FABAG’s Executive Chairman, John Awuni, said the government must instead initiate structural and institutional reforms aimed at addressing the deep-rooted inefficiencies within the utilities. His comments follow FABAG’s renewed appeal to President John Dramani Mahama to undertake sweeping reforms at ECG to improve its performance and accountability.
Mr. Awuni stated that successive governments had used tariff increases as a default measure to address ECG and GWCL’s challenges, but these have yielded no meaningful results – a trend that is most likely to continue under the new administration if the same measures are adopted.
“The utility companies have been asking for tariff increments since the government of John Agyekum Kufuor. So, if tariff increases were the solution, ECG and GWCL should not have problems by now”
John Awuni, FABAG’s Executive Chairman
He explained that the inefficiencies within the utilities are rooted in management lapses, including poor work attitude, and corruption rather than insufficient revenue. According to him, Ghana’s power and water sectors require a disciplined restructuring approach that prioritises accountability over profit recovery.
“We are not against fair or economic pricing, but the problem with ECG’s losses is not about tariffs,” Mr. Awuni stressed.
He added that the new administration’s promise to “reset” Ghana’s economy should reflect a commitment to real institutional reform rather than a continuation of the same policies that burden consumers.
Government’s Reset and Public Expectation
FABAG expressed concern that recent tariff adjustments could contradict President Mahama’s vision of a national reset aimed at alleviating economic hardship and reviving confidence in public institutions.
“One of the reasons Nana Addo lost power was because of high tariffs and taxes. So, if Mahama’s government is going to reset – then is the tariff increment the reset they promised us? If you are doing tariff increments, then you are no different from Nana Addo’s government”
John Awuni, FABAG’s Executive Chairman
The association said businesses continue to suffer from unreliable power supply, frequent tariff adjustments, and inefficiency in service delivery, adding that “without reform, Ghana’s industrial and commercial sectors will remain uncompetitive.”
In its earlier presser, FABAG gave the government a 30-day ultimatum to establish a “comprehensive performance compact,” that will evaluate and enhance the operational efficiency of ECG and GWCL. The proposed compact, it insisted should involve the Ministry of Finance, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), and the Energy Commission under direct presidential oversight.
“There shouldn’t be any tariff increment. Because there’s no amount of tariff increment that can solve the problems of ECG. There must be a reform, and that reform is aimed at reducing the technical and commercial losses to reasonable standards”
John Awuni, FABAG’s Executive Chairman
He further emphasised that the inefficiencies within ECG have cascading effects on the efforts of other key energy institutions such as the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), whose gains are eroded by ECG’s losses.
“There’s no effort VRA or GRIDCo will make that can be realised,’ he stated, warning that the reform of ECG and GWCL transcends technical corrections and should be treated as a matter of national urgency. “This reform is a matter of national security, economic survival and governance legacy,” the association maintained.
FABAG’s position underscores growing frustration among industrial players who argue that Ghana’s utility pricing structure is unsustainable without transparency and accountability in service management.
The association reiterated that tariff increments must not precede institutional reforms if the Mahama administration seeks to maintain credibility with the business community and the broader Ghanaian public.
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