Ghana needs bold decisions on energy sector, not demonstrations - Amin Anta

The former MCE for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Mohammed Amin Anta says the country must take bold decisions to solve the many problems facing the energy sector once and for all.

Those decisions must be informed by dispassionate, nationalistic discussions – not demonstrations as threatened by the Ghana Trades Union Congress -to engender durable solutions if we are not to live with the recurring challenges for a long time.

Amin Anta was speaking on Radio Gold Thursday to contribute to the raging debate over the propriety of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission to slap consumers with almost 80 and 52 per cent increases in tariffs for electricity and water respectively, with the subsequent threat by organised labour to march onto the streets if the increments were not reviewed.

But Amin Anta told his host, Alhassan Suhuyini, that the increment was unavoidable, especially given that there had not been any such increment since 2010, while the factors that trigger tariff adjustments had changed over and over, doubled and tripled in some cases.

“What you have done if you haven’t reviewed tariffs, is to help in collapsing the utility. The factors are what – international crude oil prices, we know that the prices have been increasing over the last three years. The issue of exchange rate, the cedi has depreciated, 18 per cent last year and therefore more than 20 per cent two years ago. The other issue is thermal/hydro generation mix, and we know that hydro is cheaper but we have been complimenting hydro with more and more thermal that relies on light crude oil.

“And so when you have seen the fundamentals changing and you haven’t reviewed tariffs to reflect the conditions, you are helping to kill the utility and therefore the tariffs that were announced were unavoidable.”

He said what has become the worry of the public currently, is the level of increment and its likely impact on service quality, issues he said are very critical and require dialoguing.

Amin Anta said the TUC and other groups threatening demonstrations need to put the threats behind them and sit with the government – the sole owner of the utility with a responsibility to recapitalise the sector to enable them invest in new projects and expand generation capacity.

Beyond this, he said consumers have a responsibility to report others who steal power and tamper with meters, while the TUC must ensure there is service quality to assure consumers of the best of service for what they pay.  


By Isaac Yeboah/graphic.com.gh/Ghana