Tariff increase is justified - Inusah Fuseini

Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has expressed support of the demand made by the Volta River Authority (VRA) for tariff adjustment.

VRA is demanding an 80% upward review of tariff as a surest way of meeting its financial obligation.

Speaking on Citi FM's news and current affairs programme The Big Issue, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini who is former Deputy Energy Minister said the demand by VRA is justified.

“VRA has a case because power is produced at a cost and so far as you are unable to recover the cost of production of power, you are making losses,” he stated.

Alhaji Fuseini further stated, “They have added everything including the GHc500million owed them [VRA] by government but have come to the conclusion that the tariff regime that presently prevails will not secure them the sustainability they want. What they are asking for is not mutually exclusive to the amount owed them by government.”

“Until we begin paying some realistic prices for energy, we will be dogged by the problem of under investment in the energy sector where government will have to move resources from other critical areas into the power sector,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) says it is unacceptable for the Volta River Authority (VRA) to impose payment of government's huge debt onto the ordinary citizens.

In a statement signed by its Media Coordinator, Steve Manteaw said Ghanaians are showing signs of despair following what he described as government’s inability to address the current power crisis.

According to Dr. Manteaw, the economic cost of these blackouts and disruptions run into several hundreds of millions of cedis annually; adding that recently, the Association of Ghana Industries ranked disruption in energy supply as number one of the thirteen major problems facing its members.