“Certainly we should pay more for power, we should bite the bullet and pay more for power,” were the words of a former Member of Parliament for the Adenta Constituency, Adu Asare on Citi FM's The Big Issue.
Ghanaians should pay more for electricity – Adu Asare
The Presidential Staffer has defended attempts by utility companies to increase tariffs
READ MORE: > ECG cuts power to the National Theatre over debt
A proposal revealed during a public forum organised by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in Kumasi on Tuesday said the Electricity Company of Ghana wants the present tariff of 16 pesewas per unit to be increased to 35 pesewas, while the Volta River Authority (VRA) is demanding an increase from 15 pesewas to 30 pesewas per unit.
GRIDCo wants an increment from 4 pesewas per unit of transmission to 5 pesewas while the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has also proposed an increase from GH¢1.70 per cubic metre to GH¢4.
READ MORE: > ECG disconnects Koforidua Poly over unpaid bills
According to the Presidential Staffer, the current state of the economy makes it difficult for government to continue to subsidise utility tariffs. He expressed conviction that ECG can provide quality service should the company receive the necessary tariffs.
Mr Adu Asare however stated that government cannot solely be blamed for the challenges faced by the service providers as they are expected to generate funds internally for their activities.
“It is not about government. It is about efficiency, having the structures that will handle operations. I don’t think that if the management, board of ECG had their private company, they will sit and wait till three, four years for a particular institution. Government will certainly come in that way because most of these institutions are government subverted institutions but they also generate internal funds," he said.
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