Reverse tariff increase, audit ECG, GWL - FABAG to government
The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has called on the government and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to immediately reverse the recent increases in electricity and water tariffs, describing the adjustments as unjustifiable, insensitive and economically dangerous.
It believes that the 9.8 per cent upward review in electricity tariffs and the 15.9 per cent increase in water tariffs would further burden households and cripple businesses already weighed down by high production costs and a challenging operating environment.
In a statement issued on December 8, FABAG argued that the review was unacceptable, especially at a time when the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) had failed to demonstrate any credible commitment to improving efficiency, curbing losses or addressing long-standing issues of mismanagement.
It said it was inappropriate for the PURC to approve tariff hikes when, in its view, both utilities continued to show “symptoms of a real cancer” undermining national development.
“Instead of fixing these chronic structural problems, the PURC continues to punish consumers and businesses with new tariff increases. Ghanaians cannot continue paying for the incompetence and corrupt acts of the ECG and Ghana Water Limited ” the statement said.
ECG inefficiencies
FABAG criticised the ECG in particular, insisting that the utility had “become the very disease it was created to cure.”
It cited persistent technical and commercial losses exceeding 30 per cent — one of the highest in Africa — as evidence of deep-rooted structural failures that required urgent overhaul rather than tariff adjustments.
The association further referenced revelations by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which exposed an unauthorised overspending of GH¢189.2 million by the ECG. FABAG argued that until persons responsible for such breaches were held accountable, consumers could not be made to bear the cost of mismanagement.
It also questioned the ballooning of the company’s procurement expenditure from under GH¢1 billion to over GH¢8.3 billion in 2023, representing nearly a 700 per cent increase and demanded full disclosure of the procurement processes that led to the escalation.
More rejection basis
The statement said the new tariffs risk worsening food inflation because food and beverage manufacturers depend heavily on water and electricity for production, storage and distribution.
“This increase will force many businesses, especially SMEs, to shut down, reduce employment or increase prices,” the association warned.
FABAG maintained that it was contradictory for the government to raise public sector wages by only nine per cent, while approving utility increases totalling more than 25 per cent.
It said the disparity demonstrated a disregard for the living conditions of ordinary Ghanaians and the sustainability of the private sector.
Demands
The association called for an immediate suspension of the tariff increase, a full operational audit of both the ECG and the GWL, an aggressive technical-loss reduction programme with measurable quarterly targets and strict enforcement of accountability measures, including prosecution of internal theft and illegal connections.
FABAG also urged adopting a cost-recovery model based on efficiency reforms rather than on continuous tariff hikes.
“The solution is restructuring, digitisation, accountability and proper revenue management, not burdening struggling businesses with higher costs,” it said.
FABAG pledged to continue defending the interests of its members and the wider public, insisting that Ghanaians deserved utility companies that delivered efficient service rather than institutions that “survive by punishing consumers.”
