Economic crisis: It’s difficult to defend government now Edward Bawa

Bongo Member of Parliament, Edward Bawa, has mocked government communicators for staying mute on matters arising in the economy.

According to him, it is difficult for government communicators to defend the leaders at the helm of affairs in recent times due to the wobbling state of the local economy amidst the high inflation rate, increase in transport fares, and goods and services.

His comment comes after the PURC announced an increment in electricity and water tariffs which will take effect September 1, 2022.

Speaking on TV3 Key Points programme on Saturday, August 20, 2022, Edward Bawa said, “This is the most difficult time to defend government. The usual government communicators are not appearing in the media because it is difficult to defend government.”

It would be recalled that PURC on Monday, August 15, 2022, announced the new tariffs for electricity and water.

Electricity tariff was increased by 27.15% and water tariff was pegged at 21%.

According to PURC, these new tariffs will take effect from Thursday, September 1, 2022.

In a press statement sighted by GhanaWeb, the Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, noted that, “In balancing the interests of service providers and consumers, the PURC acknowledged that the very economic variables that have occasioned the steep increases proposed by the service providers also affect consumers.”

“The Commission admitted, however, that some level of increases in utility tariffs were inevitable if the nation was to avoid another dumsor and its attendant effects including job losses. The Commission, therefore, decided to increase the average end-user tariff for electricity by 27.15% and water by 21.55% effective September 1, 2022,” part of the release read.

Dr. Ishmael Ackah further stated that these rates represented the positions of all stakeholders in the utility space in line with sections 3(c) of PURC Act 1997 (Act 538).