Some business associations have launched a scathing attack on the country\u2019s electricity pricing regime, describing it as \u201canti-business, anti-growth, and fundamentally flawed.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), and the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association expressed outrage at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission\u2019s (PURC) plans to increase electricity tariffs next year.<\/p>\n
The groups warned that persistent hikes in power tariffs are crippling local industries, discouraging investment, and forcing some businesses to downsize or shut down operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cGhanaian enterprises and citizens are being strangled by tariffs that defy economic logic, crush competitiveness, and create fertile ground for illegal connections and power theft,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
FABAG argued that the current pricing system \u201cpunishes honest businesses and rewards inefficiency,\u201d forcing many law-abiding consumers to subsidize losses caused by mismanagement and corruption within the power sector. The association cautioned that unaffordable power bills are driving some businesses to bypass official systems, worsening the menace of illegal electricity connections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen electricity becomes unaffordable, it becomes a target for illegal access,\u201d FABAG warned. \u201cWe are fast creating a society where honest business owners are punished while defaulters thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The associations further criticized the tariff structure for disproportionately affecting energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, cold storage, and agribusiness. They argued that the system undermines the government\u2019s vision of industrialization and makes imported goods more competitive than locally produced alternatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current pricing system is a clear betrayal of government\u2019s own promise to make Ghana an industrial hub,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
FABAG and its partners called for comprehensive reforms, including an independent audit of power generation and distribution costs, a transparent tariff structure that rewards efficiency, and urgent relief measures for businesses. They also demanded tougher action against internal waste and corruption in the utilities sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo amount of higher tariffs can sustainably compensate for inefficiency, poor revenue collection, and corruption,\u201d the groups asserted. \u201cThe government and PURC must face the truth \u2014 this is not a pricing system, it\u2019s a trap that kills jobs, discourages investment, and fuels criminality.\u201d<\/p>\n
The associations urged President John Mahama and the PURC to act decisively. \u201cElectricity must empower, not impoverish. It\u2019s time for policies that support honest businesses and Ghana\u2019s economic future,\u201d they declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some business associations have launched a scathing attack on the country\u2019s electricity pricing regime, describing it as \u201canti-business, anti-growth, and fundamentally flawed.\u201d In a joint statement, the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), and the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association expressed outrage at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123457,"featured_media":13610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3537,41,3507,4171],"tags":[4054,329,4205],"class_list":["post-13609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-general-news","category-national","category-utility","tag-fabag","tag-purc","tag-tariff-hikes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13609"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13611,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13609\/revisions\/13611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}