The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is alarmed over what it describes as the “crippling effect” of persistent hikes in utility tariffs on local businesses, fearing that the government’s much-touted 24-hour economy initiative risks achieving its potential without reforms.
Should the persistent hike in the tariffs persist, the President of GUTA, Joseph Obeng, says the ambitious and beautiful dream will fail to materialize.
Inflamed with passion, the leader of GUTA lamented that the high cost of electricity and water continues to erode the competitiveness of Ghanaian businesses both locally and within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This, he says, feeds into the high cost of doing business in the country, threatening the profitability and sustainability of local businesses. In addition, the situation, he says, makes Ghanaian businesses uncompetitive with their peers in neighboring countries.
According to him, the frequency of tariff adjustments has pushed many traders and manufacturers to the brink, forcing them to either scale down production or pass on costs to consumers.
“We don’t have to continue to increase and increase while businesses suffer the way we are suffering. It does not make us competitive at all. We all realize that we are doing the African Continental Free Trade Area. Ghana is lagging behind. We are not competitive. Our goods cannot even be sold in Togo. It doesn’t go beyond the other member states. Why? because of the high cost of doing business here, especially regarding utility charges,” Joseph Obeng indicated.
Without far-reaching interventions to avert the high and persistent utility tariffs, the 24-hour economy initiative, which aims to boost productivity, create jobs, and transform Ghana into a round-the-clock business hub, will likely fail. He adds that without stable and affordable utilities, such ambitions will remain only on paper.
The president of GUTA added: “It does not help us, and we should note that earlier we knew and dissected these issues and put them in a proper context. We are not going to industrialize, or the 24-hour economy that we want to propagate, will just be a mess.”
Other business people share in the concerns of GUTA, arguing that high operational costs have become the single biggest deterrent to investment and production in the country. In a business environment where power is both expensive and unreliable, the idea of running shifts around the clock, they say, is far from realistic.
Many small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling to keep their doors open amid frequent tariff adjustments, rent hikes, and rising fuel costs. Some factory owners say electricity alone takes up nearly 40% of their total operating expenses.
For Ghana to truly realize the promise of a 24-hour economy, GUTA insists, the government must treat affordable energy as a non-negotiable foundation.
