Some residents in the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua, have appealed to the government to intervene by reducing the utility tariffs announced by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) earlier this week.
The PURC on Monday announced that they would increase electricity and water tariffs by 27.15% and 21.55% respectively, effective September 1, 2022.
Eastern Regional Correspondent, McAnthony Dagyenga, therefore, engaged some residents of Koforidua to pick their views on this new development.
The residents, who are mostly petty traders, expressed that they were already languishing in economic hardship and that it would be insensitive for the government to allow the utility tariffs to be increased.
One of the residents, a seamstress, who spoke to GhanaWeb, explained that she uses 20 buckets of water at a cost of GHC6 every week, and that, increasing it would put a toll on her finances.
"I buy water for 30p per bucket, and I use 20 buckets a week. This amounts to GHC6 every week. So for every month I spend about GHC30 on water. Now, the government is increasing the tariff, how do we meet cost of water?
"We plead with the government. We know it is also struggling to meet our needs. But we plead that the utility bills are reduced for us.
"Now transportation fares are high. Water bill is going high and light bill is also increasing. What do we do now?
"We plead with the government to look into this again so that life can be bearable for all of us in this country," the seamstress appealed.
Another petty trader, a detergent seller, also expressed that currently, it is difficult to access water where they live and wondered what benefit the tariff increase would bring.
"Oh I have heard that utility tariff is being increased but I don't know the rate. Even what to eat is a challenge. You sell and they don't buy. How do we survive with this tariff increase? Then they should just let us sleep in darkness.
"To get water flowing into our homes is a big challenge. You can't get to fetch it. You go to other homes to fetch from their well and you are denied. We were not getting water and now they want to increase it?" The detergent seller quizzed.
She then appealed that "the government has to reduce the tariffs. We buy a bucket for 40p. It means when they increase, we may now be buying it at 70p."
GhanaWeb also interviewed a nursing mother who thinks that the government wants citizens to "vanish" from the country in the face of unending economic hardship.
To the nursing mother, the tariff increase was not justifiable.
"The government wants us to vanish from this world. No, no, no, there should not be utility tariff increment. Even what to eat now is hard to come by. Water is being rationed. You buy the prepaid and it finishes in no time.
"The government should do things right. The tariff increment will not help us. It should do things right!" She stressed.
One resident, who gave her name as Doris Owusu and preferred to speak behind camera, said she was nonchalant about whatever the government would choose to do.
According to her, she had dug a borehole and connected it to all her rooms.
"I don't have anything to do with water bill or whatever. For the electricity, I have a personal prepaid meter. I buy credit based on what my money can buy. If it goes off. I will endure the darkness till when I get money again to replenish. The government can choose to do whatever it wants. I don't care!" she said.
