Readjusting tariffs every 3 month is ‘madness’ - Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has described as “madness” the decision to readjust utility prices every three months.

“We as Ghanaians have decided that every three months we’ll readjust the cost of electricity, water and petrol…which country does that? It’s share madness because everybody knows that you need a certain measure of stability in prices to be able to develop an economy”.

“Everybody hearing this announcement knows the extent to which the power sector is riddled with inefficiency. Who is the PURC deceiving? It's unbelievable, but it is happening right under our eyes,” Mr. Pratt bemoaned.

His comment follows Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s announcement of an increase in electricity and water tariffs by 6.45 and 4.54 percent respectively, for the fourth quarter of 2014 in line with the Automatic Adjustment Formula (AAF).

This was contained in a statement signed by PURC Chairman, Dr Emmanuel Annan, which said an analysis of the current demand against supply dictated that there should be a subsidiary increase in Electricity Tariffs to help maintain the current situation of a deficiency in supply which has resulted in a load-shedding situation.

It said, however, that because of the poor quality of water service delivery by the Ghana Water Company, the Commission has decided not to pass on the tariff for water until such a time that certain regulatory requirements that protect the consumer are met.

However, speaking on Alhaji & Alhaji on Saturday, Mr. Pratt said he does not understand this obsolete utility price cycle, adding that he is extremely disappointed in all the governments of Ghana from 1980 to date.

“What is this three-month cycle in the generation of power and the supply of water? Why is that cycle? It doesn’t make sense... I am highly disappointed in all our government from 1980 to the present,” he said.

He believes all the past leaders have followed this same path, burdened the poor people of Ghana, and gave the same reasons for these thoughtless calculated adjustments.

According to the Insight Managing Editor, the unnecessary hikes in tariffs in Ghana’s utility issues are traceable to the deep-rooted financial malfeasance in the public sector.

“If you look at the level of corruption not just in the utility sector but nationwide, you cannot under any circumstance justify these increases”, he lamented.