Personally, I am against any form of increase in utility tariffs. This is because for many years now, Ghanaians have been constantly slapped with increases in utility tariffs without any corresponding improvement in services.
Many of the fire outbreaks across the country could be traced to the rampant power outages. The Electricity Company of Ghana for instance must be seen to be offering quality service to Ghanaians. When that is done, nobody would complain when tariffs are increased.
As of now, we seem to be paying more in terms of tariffs without a corresponding improvement in the quality of service delivery. Without improvement in service delivery consumers would not be motivated enough to pay more in terms of tariffs.
The level of wastage, in the case of water delivery, is enormous and I think that it is time all loop-holes were plugged, if the quality of service delivery is to be enhanced.
Management should put in place measures to address the inefficiencies in the system. When this is done, wastage would be reduced and the needed revenue generated to help improve on the quality of service delivery.
It is amazing to see water flowing from burst pipes for weeks on end without any intervention from either the management or staff of the water company who behave rather as if nothing is wrong.
The cost of such waste in the long run is passed on to consumers. And this has become a ritual. The utility providers should take a critical look at some of these errors and correct them, instead of always finding a means of increasing the burden of the consumer by way of increased tariffs.
The same applies in the case of provision of electricity , where illegal connection abounds.
It is important that the utility companies build the capacities of their personnel to enable them to become proficient in their jobs. When this is done, mediocrity in the system would be reduced, and this would motivate consumers to pay more when the need arises.
I do not think there is the need for any increase in utility tariffs now.
Over the years, in spite of customers commitment to honour our obligations, they have only received poor service delivery in return. Because of the inability of the Ghana Water Company to supply potable water to residents in many localities, people have resorted to the digging of bore holes in their homes.
Those who rely solely on Ghana Water Company always get disappointed as water does not flow through the taps for months, thus compelling them to buy water from other sources.
The utility service providers have taken advantage of being sole suppliers of their products to provide services which are best described as deplorable, and yet they want to regularly adjust their tariffs upwards.
Since the service provided is not up to standard, the authorities must ignore any call for tariff increases since this will not go down well with consumers.
Ghanaians are eagerly waiting for the utility service providers to improve on their services. And as soon as there are signs that conditions are better, everyone would embrace an increase in tariff. Until then, no way.
Concern has also been raised about the negative attitude of staff who work with the utility companies. The apathy they show towards work contribute to the provision of poor service. It is time they changed for the better to enable them to become committed to produce quality service.
Over the years, the public utility providers have not been able to offer quality service in spite of the monthly bills that customers pay.
Be it water or electricity, the services delivered by the providers have been very poor, yet consumers are saddled with bills which they are expected to honour.
In fact, the situation as it concerns electricity is deplorable. I don’t know if the country is reverting to the era of load shedding as was experienced a few years ago . The intermittent power outages, especially in Kumasi, are becoming a regular feature now.
Gadgets are being destroyed in rapid fashion, while houses are getting burnt every now and then, all as a result of unannounced power outages.
This is seriously affecting consumers, as gadgets have to be replaced at great cost. In addition, families whose houses get burnt as a result of electric fault become disillusioned and traumatised, making it difficult for them to enjoy a meaningful life.
In the case of water, the least said about it the better. At Gyenyasi Extension where I live, water has not flowed in some taps for years, yet bills are sent to be paid for each month.
How do consumers pay increased tariffs considering the delivery of such poor services.
I am of the opinion that the utility service providers should deliver quality service, and based on that, consumers would be prepared to pay economic rates to keep the providers afloat.
If service providers are able to retrieve debts owed to them by the government over the years and reduce inefficiencies in their systems, it will go a long way to enhance quality service delivery and reduce the perennial increases in tariffs.
I think it is time Ghanaians paid economic rates for utility tariffs to enable the service providers to have the requisite resources to maintain their facilities.
By using the term economic rate, I am saying consumers would have to pay tariffs that would make it possible for the service providers to recover their cost to enable them to continue delivering quality service to consumers.
The service providers do not have to run at a loss because if that happens, their systems would collapse and we would all be denied the needed power and water to run our businesses.
If we are not able to maintain such valuable assets as a country, we would be the eventual losers as we would lose these valuable facilities.
The utility service providers must be made to be accountable for their actions.
I wonder why they still have inefficiencies in their systems and cannot also retrieve their debts, especially those owed by institutions .
If they really want to recover cost, then they have to run their service on purely business lines.
I believe that the time has come for the authorities to fire managers who appear to be inefficient and employ those with the requisite expertise and know-how to run the services in a way that would meet the needs of consumers.
Based on the socio-economic situation in the country, I am of the opinion that any increase in tariff should not overburden the ordinary Ghanaian because if it is too high, it would create disequillibrum in the economy and workers would be badly affected.
If government finds it necessary to increase tariffs, it should do so from time to time. Because the economy is dynamic things cannot be made to remain stagnant all the time. As such, depending on the economic situation at a particular time, tariffs should be adjusted in consonance with the prevailing times.
However, under the present socio-economic situation, where almost everybody is complaining bitterly about hardship and its rippling effects, the need to adjust tariffs upwards should not be rushed.
The market prices of foodstuffs, clothing and transport fares, among others, are rising at an astronomical speed, and so to adjust tariffs at present would not be in the interest of the public.
There should be a way therefore, for the government to absorb the proposed tariffs on electricity and water to reduce hardship on the ordinary Ghanaian.
If on the other hand it becomes necessary for tariffs to be adjusted at all cost so as to facilitate efficiency and quality in terms of service delivery, then it should not be at the expense of the ordinary Ghanaian .
Workers salary should also be adjusted upwards to reduce the burden on them.
Already Ghanaians are reeling under astronomical increases in road and bridge tolls as vehicle owners have passed on the increases to passengers by way of increased transport fares.
I accept the proposed increase in utility tariffs but it should be measured in such a way that the level of increase would be manageable and not handled the way increases in road and bridge tolls were done.
To increase utility tariffs should not be necessary now due to the numerous lapses in the system.
At present consumers are not assured of quality service, as such any increases in tariffs would bring about untold hardships on the average Ghanaian and workers who are already overburdened with numerous tax increases.
High rents, dwindling income, increase in poverty, high transport fares and high cost of feeding, among others, have already burdened the ordinary worker, such that any more upward adjustment in tariffs would not be in the interest of the worker.
If the utility services were meeting the needs of customers, we would have considered some upward adjustment in tariff, but this has not been the case. In fact, there is also so much wastage in the system.
Illegal connections, perceived corruption among their staff members, over invoicing, negative attitude of staff towards customers and failure to respond to emergencies, are some of the lapses which need to be rectified.
I am of the view that the proposed increase in tariff is based on market oriented policies put in place by the government and instigated especially by International Monetary Fund and World Bank conditionalities.
Revelations to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament indicate that the government owes a lot to public institutions, including the utility companies, and it is these debts that are being passed on to customers, hence the proposed tariff increase. But this will not augur well for customers.
There is a wrong notion that when taxes are increased, government’s debt would go away. This is unfortunate and must not be entertained because the ordinary Ghanaian is already suffering.
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