The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has called for an immediate rollback of the latest utility tariff hikes, warning that pushing through the new rates without addressing long-standing structural failures will only worsen Ghana’s economic challenges.
In a statement released on December 8, the Association rejected the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) decision to raise electricity tariffs by 9.8 per cent and water tariffs by 15.9 per cent, describing the move as “unacceptable, unjustifiable, and insensitive.”
FABAG argued that the increases cannot be justified when the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has yet to explain “in clear and measurable terms” how it intends to cure what the Association calls a “cancer of inefficiency, financial waste, and mismanagement.”
It noted that the Public Accounts Committee has already exposed the depth of ECG’s failures and questioned why PURC is “sweeping this cancer under the carpet.”
The Association stressed that ECG “has become the very disease it was created to cure.” It added that instead of powering national growth, the company now drains productivity and erodes trust from “every corner of the economy.”
FABAG pointed to inefficiencies, persistent losses, corruption, poor worker attitudes, revenue shortfalls, and poor service delivery as the real causes of the sector’s decline. It argued that rather than fixing these problems, PURC continues to punish consumers with higher tariffs.
The Association said businesses cannot continue to shoulder the burden of what it described as incompetence and corruption within ECG and the Ghana Water Company.
It raised concerns about the disparity between public sector wage increases and the tariff hikes, stating it is “unacceptable that government increases workers’ pay by 9% and goes ahead to increase utilities by 25.7%.”
FABAG also highlighted ECG’s budget overrun of GH¢189.2 million without approval and demanded a framework to hold those responsible accountable. It further questioned why procurement spending jumped from under GH¢1 billion to over GH¢8.3 billion in 2023, calling the escalation alarming.
The Association noted that ECG’s technical and commercial losses remain above 30 per cent, ranking “among the worst in Africa,” and said it is unaware of any credible plan to reduce them.
FABAG warned that businesses already under severe financial strain risk shutting down, cutting jobs, or raising prices. It cautioned that the tariff hikes will worsen food inflation since the food and beverage sector relies heavily on electricity and water for production, storage, and distribution.
It lamented the absence of accountability measures to curb theft or improve customer service, stressing that consumers should not be paying for inefficiency, particularly when ECG has “repeatedly refused to publish transparent operational audits.”
FABAG warned that rising product costs will intensify the cost-of-living crisis and destabilize an industry that contributes significantly to jobs and revenue.
The Association argued that tariff-led solutions cannot resolve the problem, insisting that “Ghana cannot tax or tariff-increase its way out of a broken power and water sectors.” It said the real solution lies in restructuring, digitisation, accountability, and sound revenue management.
FABAG maintained that until inefficiencies are addressed, tariff adjustments remain illegitimate and unacceptable. It is demanding an immediate suspension of the hikes, a full operational audit of ECG and the Ghana Water Company with public disclosure, a credible loss-reduction programme, strict enforcement against theft and illegal connections, and a cost-recovery model based on efficiency rather than endless increments.
The Association concluded that it will continue to defend the interests of its members and the wider public, insisting that Ghana deserves utility systems that function properly, not ones that survive by punishing consumers.
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