The Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says President Mahama’s sudden declaration that electricity tariff would be reduced effective July 1 was borne out of fear.
He believes the government is panicking over the public’s disenchantment with the increasing electricity tariff.
President John Mahama, during his “Accounting to the People Tour” in Accra Tuesday, told Ghanaians, “I have given them (ECG) the opportunity to go ahead to implement the solutions they’ve come up with. Because the electricity billing is done in monthly cycles, they have to start on the first of a month with the billing cycle. So I have asked Ghanaians to exercise patience, from first July they’d start the new billing cycle and I’m sure that a lot of us will see some relief in the electricity bills,”.
But Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is challenging him to give the percentage by which electricity bill would be reduced.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is the Member of Parliament for Suame wondered on Onua FM’s Yen Sempa, hosted by Kwame Karikari, “reduction by how much? Or by what percentage?”
He also suspects that the president wants to divert funds for constructing schools, roads and other projects to subsidise electricity tariff.
“It is robbing Peter to pay Paul”, the NPP MP added.
Government debt to ECG
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu further pointed out that government is indebted to ECG to the tune of GHS900million.
“20% of ECG generation is lost due to faulty transmission lines. Because government has not paid it debt and as such they run at a lost so Ghanaians must pay for that lost because ones they generate the power, Ghanaians must pay…that is why the tariffs keep increasing in the country”.
PURC’s involvement
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu recalled government telling Ghanaians that it is the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) that is responsible for tariffs increment, and therefore wondered why the President is the one announcing the reduction and not the PURC.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo/Onua FM/3news.com
