The Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA) has served notice that the Ghanaian public will bear the cost of the recent increment in water and electricity tariffs. GUTA has opposed the decision by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to increase water and electricity tariffs. The PURC has announced a 14.75 per cent increase in average end-user electricity tariffs, alongside a 4.02 per cent rise in water tariffs for all categories of consumers. The adjustments were made as part of the Commission’s quarterly review for the first and second quarters of 2025. According to the PURC, the increase was as a result of several factors, including economic and operational indicators — including the cedi-to-dollar exchange rate, inflation forecasts, fuel costs (especially natural gas), and the current mix of hydro and thermal power generation. But Mr. Clement Boateng, the Vice President of GUTA disagreed with the reasons provided by PURC insisting the increase was needless and will negatively impact businesses. He advised the government to stop increasing tariffs anyhow and rather focus on dealing with corruption and recover stolen public funds, rather than passing the burden of inefficiencies on to consumers through increased tariffs. ‘’The new increment will collapse local manufacturing companies. Already, our local manufacturers are not competitive as a result of unfair trading activities.’’ ‘’Should the government fail to listen to our concerns and maintain the tariffs, we will pass it on to the consumer because there is no other option available. For example, I bought electricity at Ghc 100, which lasted for three days but was reduced to a day following the increment. Then, as a cold store operator, I have no other option to increase my prices, so I will stay in business.’’ By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana