Richard Ahiagbah, the National Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has reacted to the recent adjustment in water and electricity tariffs in Ghana.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced an upward adjustment in the average end-user tariff for electricity by 14.75%, and a 4.02% increase in water tariffs across the board for all categories of consumers.
According to the PURC, the adjustments are driven by four key variables: exchange rate volatility, inflation, the electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel—mainly natural gas—in electricity production.
Reacting to the announcement in a social media post on Monday, April 14, Mr. Ahiagbah claimed the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is blaming the immediate past NPP administration.
He, however, dismissed such claims, noting that the NDC has a record of significantly increasing tariffs, citing a cumulative hike of 294.5% from 2009 to 2016.
“I hear the NDC blames the New Patriotic Party for the 14.75% and 4.02% hikes in electricity and water tariffs, respectively. That cannot be true if you consider that from 2009 to 2016, the NDC increased electricity tariffs cumulatively by 294.5%,” he wrote.
He further asked, “Is the NDC saying the 294.6% increase in electricity tariffs from 2009–2016 is blamable on the NPP?”
Mr. Ahiagbah accused the NDC of a pattern of increasing tariffs without implementing measures to cushion ordinary Ghanaians.
“The NDC must take responsibility for its insensitivity and for deceiving Ghanaians into thinking it would bring down the cost of living. Instead, conditions have worsened for Ghanaians since coming into office,” he stressed.
