AFAG SERVES NOTICE

Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG)is a political pressure group in Ghana.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday August 12, 2012
Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has given the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) two weeks ultimatum failure of which it says “the PURC should be responsible for the embarrassment our actions may bring to Government.”

At a news conference in Accra yesterday to denounce what it calls “astronomical increases in utility tariffs which has brought untold hardships to Ghanaians”, Abu Ramadan, a leading member of AFAG said “we regret the inability of the PURC to review downwards utility tariffs in spite of the Presidential directive and continuous calls on Government and the PURC by civil societies, employers (Association of Ghana industries etc), labour & trade unions.”

He said “AFAG finds this defiant posturing of PURC rather strange, unfortunate and one daring enough to elicit a sustained embarrassment to the Government.”
“We stand by our earlier submission that, any such increases in utility tariffs must be commensurate with good services and more so not at a time that the purchasing power of the Ghanaian is quickly eroding and the real value of worker income is nothing good to write home about.”

“Indeed, if the PURC justified increases in tariffs based upon the levels of depreciation of the cedi and average inflation rate, where lies the justification for tariff increases as inflation keeps dropping?”

Abu Ramadan said AFAG believes that, the current threat by employers to lay off over 60, 000 workers is “a real threat to the socio-economic stability of the system and this must not be taken for a prank.”

“Households are facing great difficulties contending with their bills and we can say for a fact that, there is a measurable challenge facing the economy of petty traders i.e. ice water sellers, car washing bays, chop bars, soft drink retailers, domestic appliance retailers etc.”

He said AFAG holds the opinion that, the Ghanaian can no longer be burdened for the luxurious provisions, system inefficiencies and capital management flaws of the Volta River Authority (VRA).

“Whilst we welcome the installation of pre-paid meters at the various MDAs, AFAG on behalf of the good people of Ghana is demanding from the VRA to make public its 2009 audited Financial Statement.”

AFAG called on the PURC to organize a consumer forum as a matter of urgency for deliberations on utility tariff increases in the country.
He also said AFAG will communicate to the public their next line of action within two weeks.