Taxpayers Cannot Pay Your Draconian Utility Price Hikes

We write to register our disagreement on your connivance with utility companies to push these hikes down the throat of the Ghanaian taxpayer.

The utility companies – Volta River Authority, GRIDCo, Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) – have called for an upward tariff review, proposing over 100 percent increment which might take effect from October this year.

While the ECG is demanding that the current tariff goes up to GH¢0.35 per kilowatt from GH¢0.17 as distribution service charge, the GWCL wants the present tariff of GH¢1.78 (per cubic metre) to move up to GH¢4.

For VRA, it wants an upward adjustment of 100 percent from GH¢0.15 p/kw to GH¢0.30, whereas GRIDCo looks forward to an increase from GH¢0.40 to GH¢0.50. It is highly unfair for the P.U.R.C. who is required to protect the consumer and taxpayers to turn itself into a “Trojan horse” to “milk” the taxpayer.

In the face of persistent power outages popularly called adumdumadumdum, high taxes, disproportionate fuel price decrease with regards to international crude oil prices, the hemorrhaging of the Ghanaian economy, high interest rates and reduced profit margins, the taxpayer cannot be burdened any longer.

Economic growth has slowed considerably and is expected to grow at 3.5 percent in 2015, the lowest recorded growth in more than 10 years. Inflation is rising faster than Husain Bolt. The P.U.R.C. cannot team up with these utility companies to push their inefficiencies on the taxpayer as previous increments did not impact on service quality, and any upward increment would bring unwarranted hardship on the taxpayer.

We are of the view that these price hikes should be unconditionally withdrawn until these companies do the right thing and fix all inefficiencies associated with their operations. We hope your activities would benefit the taxpayers you are required to serve and not the other way round.

With the right managerial competencies, government can raise resources within the current structure to fund these companies, as price increases have become a lazy managerial style of raising revenue. As taxpayers we live to payer our taxes and bills and NOT for us to die to pay no taxes. We cannot bare these price hikes as taxpayers.

We count on your cooperation.
Regards Frank Asiedu Bekoe Executive Director
Mobile: +233-246-705510
Cc The Executive Secretary, P.U.R.C. All Media Houses