Small business owners in Accra say government’s 25 percent subsidy on utility tariffs will make no difference in mitigating cost of operation. 

Consumers are now paying 59.18 percent as against the 78.9 per cent announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission. But small business owners are still dissatisfied. They want a further reduction.

Selasi Deku, manager of Imagine Pro Services, a small graphic and colour printing firm here in Accra tells Joy Business paying electricity bills is a major headache. Over the last few weeks, he has had to pay double or even more for the power he consumes.

“We spent 40 Ghana Cedis those days on electricity, now we spend twice or even more. It is affecting us very much. It’s terrible. Government has to do something about it. The 25 percent is not enough...”

Prince Yeboah, owner of E-Link Computer System, an internet cafe shares a similar challenge with Joy Business.

The income he makes at the end of the month has drastically reduced because of a reduction in his customer base, but he has to pay more for electricity, he said.

“I am losing. There’s no money in the system and prices are high and people are not coming. Government has to reduce the price, at least 50 percent...” Yeboah said.

But experts have warned any reduction in utility further would come at a huge cost to the country and the power companies.

Government which is financially constrained now has to make available 400 million Ghana Cedis to pay for the subsidies.