The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has called on the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to immediately suspend the recent electricity and water tariff increases, saying the nation’s utility companies are too inefficient and mismanaged to justify higher charges.
Last week, PURC approved a 9.8% rise in electricity tariffs and a 15.9% increase in water tariffs, moves that have drawn sharp criticism from businesses already grappling with rising operational costs. FABAG argued that consumers should not be forced to shoulder the consequences of what it describes as years of waste, corruption, and mismanagement at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL).
In its release, FABAG used the term “cancer” figuratively to describe deep-seated inefficiencies and financial mismanagement in the utilities. The Association said ECG and GWCL have become “a real cancer in the economic development of Ghana,” adding that ECG has “become the very disease it was created to cure.”
Highlighting recent parliamentary findings, FABAG noted that ECG overspent its approved 2023 budget by GHS 189.2 million without authorization, and questioned why procurement spending surged from under GHS 1 billion to over GHS 8.3 billion, representing nearly 700% overspending. Technical and commercial losses at ECG reportedly exceed 30%, ranking it among the worst-performing utilities in Africa, yet no credible plan has been presented to reduce these losses.
FABAG also stressed the inequity of the tariff hikes. The Association pointed out that while government workers received a 9% salary increase, utility tariffs combined have risen over 25%, intensifying pressure on businesses and ordinary Ghanaians facing a growing cost-of-living crisis. FABAG warned that the increases could trigger job cuts, production delays, and higher prices, particularly in the food and beverage sector, where stable electricity and water supply is critical.
The group urged full operational audits, public disclosure of procurement processes, enforceable targets for reducing technical and commercial losses, and accountability for internal theft and illegal connections. FABAG emphasized that efficiency, digitization, and proper revenue management, not higher tariffs, are the solution.
Summarizing its position, FABAG said: “Ghanaians should not pay for inefficiency. Until ECG and GWCL demonstrate measurable improvements, including loss reduction, financial discipline, and transparency, tariff hikes should be suspended.”
The Association insisted that structural reform must be the priority, arguing that utilities should be “reset” before consumers are asked to shoulder higher costs. FABAG concluded by emphasizing that Ghana deserves power and water sectors that work, not systems that survive by punishing their users.
