FABAG Rejects New PURC Tariff Hikes, Calls for Immediate Reversal and Reforms at ECG, GWCL
The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has issued a strong condemnation of the latest utility tariff adjustments announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), describing the increases as unjustified, insensitive and unacceptable.
In a statement released on Sunday, December 7, the association rejected the 9.8% increase in electricity tariffs and 15.9% upward review in water tariffs, arguing that consumers cannot be burdened with higher costs when fundamental operational failures within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) remain unresolved.
FABAG questioned the basis for the adjustments, emphasising that the public still lacks clarity on how ECG intends to address chronic inefficiencies identified by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. It maintained that the PURC cannot “sweep ECG’s cancer under the carpet,” stressing that persistent financial leakages, technical losses, mismanagement and corruption continue to undermine the utility sector.
According to the association, ECG and GWCL have become major impediments to economic progress, with ECG described as “the very disease it was created to cure,” eroding productivity and diminishing public confidence.
FABAG further argued that consumers “cannot continue paying for the incompetence and corrupt acts” of the two utility providers, and insisted that systemic reforms must precede any tariff adjustments. It stated that Ghana “cannot tax or tariff-increase its way out of a broken power and water sector” and urged authorities to prioritise restructuring, digitisation, accountability and enhanced revenue management.
The association presented five key demands aimed at restoring efficiency and public trust in the utility sector that include: immediate suspension of the tariff increases; comprehensive operational audit of ECG and GWCL, with findings made public; technical loss-reduction programme with measurable quarterly benchmarks; strict accountability measures, including prosecution for internal theft and illegal connections; and adoption of an efficiency-based cost-recovery model rather than continuous tariff hikes.
FABAG called on both the PURC and government to heed these concerns and work towards sustainable sector reforms that protect businesses and consumers already grappling with high operational costs.
