The Minority Caucus in Parliament has vehemently opposed the recent utility tariff hikes, demanding an immediate reversal and labelling the policy as a “symptom of failed leadership” rather than a genuine reform measure.
George Kwame Aboagye, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, used a press conference today, Monday, December 8, 2025, to warn that the cumulative effect of the hikes would be catastrophic for Ghana’s economy and its citizens.
The NPP MPs believe that, “These tariff hacks are not reforms they are punishment they are not solutions they are sentence of failed leadership and poor policy choices.”
Mr. Aboagye articulated a stark five-point breakdown of the immediate and long-term consequences should the government fail to heed the call to withdraw the tariff increases on water (over 15%) and electricity (around 9%).
- Escalating Utility Poverty: He warned that the increases would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis, “leaving more families unable to afford basic electricity.” This exacerbates energy poverty, particularly in low-income communities already struggling with economic hardship.
- Collapse of SMEs: The backbone of Ghana’s economy—Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)—will face collapse “due to unbearable operating costs.” Data indicates that SMEs account for approximately 70% of Ghana’s GDP and represent a significant portion of total employment, making their collapse a systemic economic threat.
- Job Losses and Unemployment: The heightened operational strain will inevitably lead to “Job losses as industries scale down or shut down operations.” Mr. Aboagye pointed to the already alarming rate of youth unemployment in the country, noting that job losses from the industrial sector would only intensify this crisis.
- Reduced Competitiveness: The rising cost of power and water will “reduce productivity and competitiveness further weakening the economy.” Ghanaian goods and services will become more expensive relative to regional competitors, negatively impacting exports and manufacturing output.
- Heightened Social and Economic Hardship: The final outcome, he argued, would be a deepening of suffering: “heighten social and economic hardship deepens the suffering of workers and households.”
Mr. Aboagye concluded his address with a scathing condemnation of the government’s policy choice, insisting that the reliance on consumer price increases demonstrates a failure to address systemic inefficiencies within utility providers like the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
The Minority’s firm position is that the government must pursue internal efficiency measures and address financial leakage, technical losses, and overcapacity payments—estimated by some analysts to cost the nation millions of dollars annually—before shifting the burden onto consumers. The caucus has pledged to use every tool at its disposal to force a policy reversal.
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