The Ghana Hotels Association has revealed its intention to petition the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) over the recent tariff increment.
On June 1, 2023, the PURC approved an upward adjustment in water and electricity tariffs.
The decision to increase the tariffs was based on various factors considered by the regulator, including the cost of electricity, rising expenses for raw water treatment chemicals, exchange rates, and inflation.
However, the tariff increment has faced strong opposition from multiple stakeholders, with the Association of Ghana Industries leading the charge. Concerns have been raised about the potential negative impact on local businesses.
Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr, the President of the Ghana Hotels Association, expressed the burden felt by their members due to the significant 160 percent increment.
In an interview with Citi News, he emphasized the urgent need to reverse this decision in order to alleviate the strain on indigenous businesses.
“We appreciate the situation we find ourselves in as a country and we do know the utility tariffs will be adjusted every quarter and we do know that these adjustments will certainly be upward all the time so we have no problem with those adjustments provided that it is communicated to us, so we prepare ourselves for it and know exactly how much it is going to affect our budget or our cost.”
“So when you say 8.3 percent and end up at 167 that is very scary and we want to pre-empt such actions in the future which is why we are petitioning. So we are having discussions with our executives and members,” he stated.