NPP kicks against proposals for utility tariff increment

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned moves by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) to increase utility tariffs.

On Joy FM’s current affairs programme Newsfile, Communications Director of the party, Nana Akomea questioned government’s inability to pay its debts owed the utility companies.

Utility companies including Electricity Company of Ghana, the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Volta River Authority, have called for a major tariff review, proposing more than a 100 percent increment in tariffs for 2015.

The Public Utility Regulatory Commission, PURC has been consulting with interest groups to justify the increase.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) says workers are not ready to pay the huge increments. They charged utility companies to justify previous increments in tariffs.

With reference to the 80 percent tariff increments in the last six months, Nana Akomea said the action becomes valueless if the currency is not stable.

“The government is not able to maintain the value of the currency so the 80 percent tariff increase in six months become valueless because the utility companies have to run on inputs that are imported with dollars,” he stated.