GUTA Slams Utility Tariffs Hike

Dr. Shafic Suleman, PURC Executive Secretary

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has reacted vehemently to the recent hike in utility tariffs.

The reasons adduced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for the hike, GUTA stated in a release signed by the Secretary General Alpha Shaban, ‘do not hold water.’

While appreciating the fact that life is not static and that changes are inevitable, GUTA was quick to add that such changes should not be done at the whim of any particular body.

‘It is an open secret that there are a lot of wastages in the management of electricity and water, which every well-meaning Ghanaian will attest to,” GUTA stated pointing out that some of these are the inflation of cost of purchases and other charges for individual benefits to the detriment of the state.

“Ineffective system of collection of bills from defaulters, especially from the state institutions, resulting in outstanding debts, which are eventually and unfairly passed on to other consumers, of the Utilities, thereby surcharging domestic and commercial consumers in the country for these inefficiencies is another factor,” GUTA said.

GUTA pointed at the issue of illegal connections and the failure by the utility service providers to tackle these criminal acts with the seriousness it deserves as another factor.

PURC according to GUTA is also unable to effectively monitor, evaluate and scrutinize the operations and management of the service providers to ensure value for money and protect the public purse against corruption and other related means of siphoning of state funds into individual pockets at the expense of the state.

“A clear case in point is the ongoing brouhaha and furor about the over 1000 missing ECG containers some of which were intercepted in the Central Region and some found in the premises of a manufacturing company in Tema. This is to only mention a few,” GUTA stated.

It appears the public sector is now being turned into a gold mine, where every public and/or civil servant takes advantage of, to enrich him/her self within a short period of time, GUTA noted adding that, “this does not augur well for this country and must cease immediately if we really want to develop economically.”

“We, therefore appeal to the government to focus much attention on this negative attitude to public service, identify all those who steal, divert, misappropriate, misapply and/or loot state funds or property and deal with them decisively to recover all stolen properties of the state,” GUTA stated.

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