Traders lament increase in water, electricity tariffs

Some traders within the Central Business District of Accra have expressed worry over the current increase in electricity and water tariffs by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC).

In its quarterly adjustment for the first three months of 2023, the PURC declared that energy tariffs would increase by 29.96 per cent, while water would increase by 8.3per cent from February 1.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, a Pharmacist, Mr Courage Sevor, at the Makola Retail Center, said the hike in the rate would raise product costs and impact businesses negatively.

He said the increases were wrongly timed because Ghanaians were already going through “enough hardship”.

“Well, it is going to increase our cost of running business obviously because we have to pay more. We have to dish out more money to get the same amount of electricity that we need to run our businesses. Once the cost of business goes up, the cost of products will also have to increase,” he said

Madam Agnes Aidoo, a Sachet Water Retailer, also indicated that the increase in tariffs would result in a decline in her profit margin since electricity was key in her business.

“If GHc 50 of electricity can last a week for me, it will now last less than a week which will demand that I buy more electricity credit. But I cannot increase the prices of the water,” she said.

Hajia Sekinatu Issah, a Jeweler, said “If it were up to me, I would have pleaded for them to remove the current added tariff rates. They should give us some time up to like next year because the unstable dollar rate and other factors have made it difficult to do business in the country.

“This is not the right time for this,” another trader, Mr Kofi Asamoah, added.