Minority Party says tariff hikes punish, not reform

The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Monday, Dec 8, 2025, condemned the government’s recent utility tariff hikes, demanding an immediate reversal and labeling the move a symptom of failed leadership.

Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye, warned that the combined water increase of over fifteen percent and electricity rise of around nine percent could cripple Ghana’s economy and burden ordinary citizens.

“These tariff hikes are not reforms, they are punishment,” Aboagye said, echoing the sentiment of New Patriotic Party MPs who described the policy as a sentence of poor leadership and failed choices.

Aboagye outlined a five‑point impact analysis. First, he warned that utility poverty would surge, leaving more families unable to afford basic electricity and deepening the cost‑of‑living crisis.

Second, the collapse of small and medium enterprises could follow, as SMEs—responsible for about seventy percent of Ghana’s GDP—face unbearable operating costs.

Third, job losses would accelerate, with industries forced to scale down or shut down, worsening the already alarming youth unemployment rate.

Fourth, rising power and water costs would erode Ghana’s competitiveness, making local goods and services more expensive than regional rivals.

Finally, Aboagye warned of heightened social and economic hardship, deepening the suffering of workers and households across the country.

He added that the government’s reliance on consumer price increases reveals a failure to address systemic inefficiencies within the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ghana Water Company Limited.

The Minority Caucus urges the administration to first tackle internal inefficiencies, curb financial leakage, reduce technical losses and over‑capacity payments—costs estimated at millions of dollars annually—before shifting the burden onto consumers.

Parliamentary leaders have pledged to use every legislative tool at their disposal to force a reversal of the tariff hikes, signalling a fierce political battle ahead.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE