GUTA disagress with PURC's increase of utility tariffs

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has criticised the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) over the recent  hike in utility tariffs beginning May 1, 2025, arguing that the move overlooks deep-rooted inefficiencies and mismanagement within the sector.

"It is an open secret that there are a lot of waste in the management of electricity and water, which every well-meaning Ghanaian will attest to," GUTA said in a statement.

The PURC has announced a 14.75 per cent increase in average end-user electricity tariffs, alongside a 4.02 per cent rise in water tariffs for all categories of consumers. The adjustments were made as part of the Commission’s quarterly review for the first and second quarters of 2025.

According to the PURC, the increase was driven by a range of economic and operational indicators — including the cedi-to-dollar exchange rate, inflation forecasts, fuel costs (especially natural gas), and the current mix of hydro and thermal power generation.

However, in a statement dated April 15, GUTA Secretary-General, Alpha A. Shaban disagreed with the justification for the increase, insisting they “do not hold water”.

He claimed the true issues affecting the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Limited (GWL) are corruption, wastage, and weak governance.

"If indeed the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission is strict on the management of these utility Service Providers to ensure there is value for money, most of the wastages due to combination of factors, including stealing and stealing related cases could have been halted, save those revenue to support the Private Sector, especially, our local industries and the agriculture sector to be able to cut down cost of production, produce more at competitive price, help reduce importation, stablise our economy and take care of our currency depreciation and food inflation," he argued.

Mr Shaban went further to accuse elements within the public sector of exploiting the system for personal gain. “The public sector is being turned into a gold mine where public and civil servants enrich themselves within a short period. This does not augur well for this country and must cease immediately if we really want to develop economically," the statement stressed.

GUTA urged the government to take decisive steps to combat corruption and recover stolen public funds, rather than passing the burden of inefficiencies on to consumers through increased tariffs.

Attached below is a copy of the statement