Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo, has expressed concerns over the upward review of utility tariffs in Ghana.
According to him, the timing of the adjustment is worrying and will worsen the plights of local industries.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Monday announced a 27.15% increase in tariff for electricity and 21.55% increase in water tariff.
The new tariffs will take effect from September 1, 2022.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Akpeloo called for ways to reduce costs in the production process, which he said include utility.
He disclosed that electricity constituents about 30% of the entire production cost.
“An increase in such a significant item will affect the cost of the production process. If the cost of production continues to go up, there is very little we can do to push the cost to the producer,” he said.
“Yes they might have been holding on for a long time, but our tariffs are not cheap. Ghana is one of the high-paying countries of utility tariffs in Africa”.
“A country that apparently imports everything including newspapers makes it very difficult for local industries to thrive, thus the increment of tariffs would compound the woes of the industries.”
He however suggested that the increment could have come at a time when the cedi would be more stable and the economy exhibit favourable business conditions.
“The general economic environment is not conducive for industries, looking at the rate at which the cedi is depreciating. This makes it difficult to plan for anything in the industries. The industry is already faced with a situation of always going to the tables to renegotiate,” he lamented.
