Participants at the Public Hearing for the multi-year tariff review want the ECG and the Ghana water company to modernize their services to ensure better service to the public.
According to them, the utility companies cannot continue to provide lukewarm service and expect a tariff increase.
The program which was organized by the PURC and held at the Takoradi Technical University brought together the leadership from the Assemblies, industry, the security services, artisans, GPRTU and the seamstress and hairdressers Association.
The ECG and the Water company want more than a hundred per cent increase in tariffs, an offer that the participants say cannot be possible.
They are calling for a reduction of the proposed tariffs since it does not reflect in the output of the service delivered by the utility companies.
“Water has not run through my taps for about 6 months now but I have been paying my bills, “a representative of the dressmakers Association said.
Officials of the ECG and the water company had earlier done a presentation on their operations and the need for the tariff increase.
“We are not saying they don’t deserve the increase but it’s too much we should meet ourselves halfway because their services are poor” an Assemblyman observed.
The Chairman of the Technical Committee of the PURC Ishmael Edjekumhene also told the media that they will assess the concerns raised by consumers and later announce a new tariff.
“It is not true that we have already concluded on how much consumers will pay, what we are doing is a public hearing and we will later come out with a new tariff which will be acceptable by all”, he disclosed.