ECG's justification for the tariff increases is robbery and criminal in nature - Claims NDC Cadres

Cape Coast - The Gallant Cadres of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have issued a scathing attack on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), describing its request to increase tariffs by 225% as "robbery and criminal in nature" and urging Ghanaians to resist any such request made to the government.

In a strongly worded statement issued and signed on September 20, 2025, the group contended that the reasons cited by ECG—rising inflation, foreign exchange volatility, interest rates, and the need for full recovery of investment costs—are untenable and that the move is clearly intended to make the "John Dramani Mahama administration unpopular and cause disaffection for the NDC."

The statement emphasized, "We are therefore calling on the government of John Mahama not to grant such a request, as it will exacerbate the economic hardships in the country. Rather, ECG must endeavour to retrieve the missing ECG containers, which are worth millions of dollars before any tariff upward adjustment could be entertained."

Furthermore, the Cadres are questioning the supervisory role of the Ministry of Energy, accusing the ministry of complicity by turning a blind eye to the leakages occurring within the energy sector without implementing remedial actions to stop them, and ask, "Are we building public trust for the NDC to win another general election?"

Below is the full statement:

Press Release

To All Media Houses

The Gallant Cadres of NDC

0208573712

0243179445

0542002741

0546572070

ECG's Justification for the Tariff Increases is robbery and criminal in nature - Claims NDC Gallant Cadres

The Electricity Company of Ghana must desist from any decision increasing electricity tariffs in Ghana. The move is clearly to make John Dramani Mahama administration unpopular and cause disaffection for the NDC. Why would ECG be proposing a 225% tariff hike? The reason ECG cite as justification for the tariffs increases is robbery and criminal in nature. That heavy infrastructure costs and the need to avoid financial collapse necessitate the 225% increase in electricity consumption is unjustifiable .

The Gallant Cadres of NDC call on the Government of John Mahama not to grant such requests as it will exacerbate the economic hardships in the Country. Rather ECG must endeavor to retrieving the missing ECG containers which worth millions of dollars.

Just 8 months in government, the utility companies have decided impose economic hardship on Ghanaians.

Ghana water proposed increment…281 % . ECG proposed increment 224%, NEdco proposed increment 171% and VRA demands 59% tariffs increment to cover power generation costs. The increment must be normalised increment for the ordinary Ghanaian to pay without pain.

The Energy Ministry is Sinking. This is because a lot of leakages at the Energy Ministry and the Minister must wake up because his ministry it’s sinking and he must be awake now. Are we building public trust for the NDC to win another General elections?

What happened to the cable theft?, What happened to the energy sector levies? What happened to the GHc1 charged in fuel consumption?. The Gallant Cadres of NDC want to know.

We keep increasing utility tariffs but reducing the quality of delivery.The leakages in the system is too much and the burden is too much.

The leakages on the delivery lines is huge partly because we distribute over long distances. We should encourage solar in rural areas so we don't have to transmit along distances which increases the leakage along the lines.

We should also encourage the use of solar in non productive sectors e.g. ministries, schools, hospitals, etc. and excess fed into the national grid.

Most Government organisations have their outside lights on from Friday 6pm to Monday 8am. There's is technology available to cut the electricity at 6am to 8am each day and from 6am to 6pm over the weekends. We are not using solar, we are not employing technology to reduce waste, we are not plucking the holes and corruption in the space. We are dumping costs on the masses when there are several "big" people using large volumes of utility and not paying.

Having followed with keen interest the recent proposals by ECG (239%), NEDCo (174.10%), and Ghana Water (280%) for utility tariff adjustments in 2025, we understand the need for sustainable electricity and water supply, but we also must be realistic about the economic situation of ordinary Ghanaians. Farmers, fisherfolk, builders, teachers, nurses, drivers, mechanics, police officers, and countless others are already struggling to make ends meet. These astronomical increases will be unbearable for households and small businesses.

However, the Gallant Cadres of NDC must set the records straight. Proposals Are Not Final

These figures must not be taken as automatic approvals. They require a thorough, independent review.

Affordability Must Come First

No adjustment should be made without weighing its impact on the average Ghanaian’s pocket.

Accountability Is Key.

Before asking Ghanaians to pay more, utility companies must prove they have reduced inefficiencies, waste, and mismanagement.

If Increases Are Unavoidable

They must be phased in gradually and with protection for vulnerable groups, schools, and hospitals.

Trust and Service Delivery

Citizens will only accept adjustments when they see visible improvements—fewer outages, reliable water supply, and transparent management.

In short, reliable utilities are important, but the burden cannot simply be pushed onto the people. Any increases must be fair, accountable, and sensitive to the realities of everyday life.

They told us to brace ourselves. That the years of subsidies and mismanagement would one day demand their pound of flesh. The proposals have now arrived. ECG wants 225 %. Ghana Water wants 280 %. VRA wants 59 %. Ghana Gas wants 91 %. Even our streetlights are demanding their own levy. And the ordinary citizen is expected to foot the tab.But this is not just about percentages on a tariff sheet. It is about people. It is about history repeating itself, where yesterday’s political indulgence writes tomorrow’s economic pain. For decades, Ghana’s utilities were treated as cash cows before elections. Contracts were inflated, maintenance postponed, corruption normalized. Tariffs were kept artificially low, not out of compassion but to preserve an illusion of stability. The system bled, the cedi collapsed, debts piled high, and now creditors are knocking.

Take water, Galamsey has poisoned rivers from Ankobra to Pra, leaving treatment plants choked with sludge. Mothers boil brown water that still carries the taste of chemicals. Pumps wear out in months, equipment fails long before its time, and treatment costs multiply. The Ghana Water Company now argues it must raise tariffs by nearly 280 % simply to survive. Yet the very communities who never dug a pit or poured mercury into a stream are asked to pay almost three times more for every drop they fetch. The polluter prospers; the consumer pays.

Electricity tells a similar story. ECG admits its system losses still hover around 27 to 32 %, mostly from theft, technical waste, and outdated infrastructure. It promises to reduce that figure to 22 % by the end of the next tariff period. But until then, customers already enduring blackouts that spoil food and voltage fluctuations that fry appliances must shoulder a 225 % increase in distribution charges. The sins of political interference, reckless borrowing, and deferred investment are not punished in the boardroom. They are punished in our living rooms when the light bill arrives. A country that once dreamed of exporting electricity now rations it to its own citizens, yet asks them to finance the gap created by decades of mismanagement.

Ghana Gas, too, seeks a 91 % increase, moving its tariff from $1.10 to $2.10 per unit of fuel. From pipelines to plants, contracts were signed in smoke filled rooms, binding the nation to deals that enriched a few while indebting the many. Instead of renegotiating or reforming these opaque arrangements, the costs are simply passed to households already cooking with shrinking incomes. Even the Volta River Authority, once the proud engine of Akosombo’s promise, now pleads for a 59 % hike just to keep turbines turning. The Akosombo dream that power would drive national transformation has dimmed into a cycle of deferred investment and fiscal recklessness.

The last eight years were squandered. The Cash Waterfall Mechanism, introduced to rationalize payments across the power sector, was implemented but inconsistently applied, dogged by disputes about fairness. It became another reform whose promise was diluted in practice. Tens of millions of dollars were spent relocating the AMERI plant to Kumasi with estimates ranging between $35 million and $71 million and the pricing remains contested. Gas contracts became rackets. The PDS concession, meant to reform electricity distribution, collapsed in scandal and cost Ghana $190 million in lost Millennium Challenge support. Pensioners were dragged into the barber’s chair during the debt exchange, shorn of bonds and dignity. But the barber was only the beginning. What followed was not haircutting; it was headhunting. Futures were scalped by gamblers in dark suits who wagered with livelihoods and walked away smiling.

And the reckoning always spares the guilty. It does not find the officials who signed reckless contracts, nor the executives who presided over losses, nor the politicians who looked away as rivers turned brown. It finds the grandmother selling tomatoes, who must keep her fridge on. It finds the father stretching his last cedi between school fees and the light bill. It finds the young worker counting coins before the month ends. In Ghana, it is not those who caused the mess who pay for it. It is those who can least afford it.

This is the burden inherited by the new government. But inheritance is not destiny. There is still a chance to do differently: to fix inefficiencies, reduce technical and commercial losses, plug leaks, go after polluters, recover what was stolen, and renegotiate contracts that have long burdened the people. Citizens must see that the guilty, not the innocent, pay.Yesterday’s evils now haunt today’s bills. But tomorrow does not have to be their shadow. If this government chooses courage over convenience, accountability over expedience, then water, light, and gas can once again be the rights of the people, not luxuries priced out of reach. The choice is stark: continue the cycle of avoidance where citizens bleed before the state can breathe, or reset the covenant between government and governed so that the burden of history does not always fall on the powerless.

Because in the end, utility tariffs are not just about cost recovery. They are about justice. And when justice is delayed, it is always the poor who pay the interest.

Comrade Richard E A Sarpong, Father Casford. The PRO, 0208573712

Ohemaa Akosua Borngreat, Deputy PRO, 0243179445

Mr F Kadan, Secretary, 0242276044

Mr Eric Takyi, Deputy Secretary, 0546572070

Mr Carrick Kpeglo, Chairman, 0542002741