Some residents in the Ashanti Region have threatened to hit the streets if the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) approves utility tariff hikes.
According to them, the poor services provided by both the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) cannot warrant any form of increment.
This follows a proposal from the ECG and GWCL for a tariff increment.
Speaking to Citi News after a public hearing organized by the PURC, the Chairman of the central branch of the Ghana Association of Barbers and Barbering Salon Owners (GABBSO), Bismark Amponsah said the “ECG has served the nation poorly.”
“I should tell my people around that we should come united and start making maybe, something like a demonstration, a massive one against ECG, GRIDCo and the VRA.”
Another resident, James Azuma who also spoke with Citi News said “if the PURC comes out with those increases, we are going to mobilize ourselves and hit the streets because we can’t pay. The government is strangling everybody in this country now, we having enough and we can’t pay anything further.”
At the public hearing organized by the PURC, residents opposed vehemently the proposal from ECG and GWCL for an increase from GH44PS to GH1 K/hr water respectively.
According to Mr. Ebenezer Baiden, the Utility tariff manager of the ECG who addressed the forum the “ECG will not be able to pay its suppliers if the tariffs are not increased.”
The Communications Manager of GWCL, Nana Yaw Banieh explained that an increment in water tariff will help in improving the quality of water in our various homes, as well as reaching places without portable drinking water.
In attendance were members from the Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Association of Barbers and Barbering Saloon owners, Hairdressers association and other individuals.
The commission is yet to tour other regions in the country to gather views on whether or not tariffs should be increased.
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By: Lauretta Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana