Utility companies should improve services before demanding increases- Baba Jamal

Koforidua, April 8, GNA - Mr Baba Jamal, Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, on Wednesday asked the utility companies to improve upon their services befo= re demanding increase in tariffs.

He explained that the current services being provided by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is not the best for them to demand upward adjustment of tariffs. Mr Baba Jamal was speaking at a public hearing forum organised by th= e Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) in Koforidua. He challenged the ECG and the GWCL to improve upon their service deliveries to warrant the increment they are demanding. Mr Jamal said it was wrong for the two companies to claim that they needed the increment to purchase modern equipment for expansion and maintenance in order to deliver better services to the public. He noted that in every business transaction, "quality determines cos= t and not

the customer who pays before the quality service is provided." According to the Deputy Minister the current state of the ECG and GW= SL was as a result of the poor management practices in the past. Mr Baba Jamal said although water and electricity were critical to every endeavour, consumers must be treated fairly. Participants at the forum mostly from the informal sector expressed dissatisfaction about the services of the two corporate entities and call= ed on the PURC to ensure that they improved upon the situation. They mentioned frequent power cuts and water disruption as some of t= he

reasons why the PURC should not grant the ECG and the GWCL increase in tariffs. Dr Emmanuel Annan, Chairman of the PURC, said the commission grant approval

to tariff proposals after it had taken into consideration the consumer interest and

cost of production. He explained said the forum was not just a talk shop but also a platform to seek

public views in respect of the performance of the utility agencies and to=

make them

an integral part of the regulatory process. Dr Annan announced that from October this year, the commission would=

begin

to enforce penalties against the utility companies for any damage caused by their

failure to comply with laid down regulations.