Adjust tariffs upward and face us in court – Young Patriots warn PURC

Pro NPP pressure group, Young Patriots, have served notice they will be forced to drag the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to court if utility tariffs are adjusted upward.

The group suspects the Volta River Authority, the Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company Limited are lobbying the PURC to agree to an increment in utility tariffs.

This, in the estimation of Young Patriots, will worsen the plight of ordinary Ghanaians who are already complaining about fuel price increments.

Chairman for the Young Patriots, Richard Nyamah maintained that his group will seek legal redress if the move is implemented.

“As Ghanaians are made to endure 24 hours power outages every other day in recent times, suggestions by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for an upward adjustment in tariffs is nothing short of ridiculous. This lazy way out taken every year by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) and utility providers is naked robbery and will no longer be tolerated for which reason our group will head to court to resist any attempt to increase utility tariffs.”

He claimed government owed ECG, VRA and TOR amounts ranging from $500m and $400m and $300m respectively.

Richard Nyamah stated: “The people of the Republic of Ghana cannot continue to subsidize the incompetence, inefficiencies, and the lack of moral uprightness of our government; bloated government Ministries, District assemblies and state agencies providing jobs for the boys who fleece the State of our scarce resources is very insensitive to the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.”

In his opinion, the current energy crisis was self-inflicted because government continues to increase domestic debt through the deliberate running down of some of the nation’s most critical agencies.

Richard Nyamah asked government to consider the energy crisis as a threat to national security which needed immediate resolution. Among other demands, the Young Patriots proposed the need to install prepaid meters at all Ministries, Departments, Agencies and District Assemblies before any negotiations on tariff increment begun.

The group also admonished President Mahama to, as a matter of urgency, ensure the payment of the accumulated debts owed ECG, VRA and TOR.