The Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG) has raised alarms about the country’s worsening economic conditions, warning that these challenges could jeopardize the government’s anti-corruption efforts.
This concern follows the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) announcement of increased electricity and water tariffs, effective July 1.
The PURC has announced a 3.45% increase in electricity tariffs for lifeline consumers, a 5.84% increase for all other residential consumers, and a 5.16% increase in water tariffs for all customer classes during the review period.
In an interview with Accra-based Citi News, John Awuni, the Executive Chairman of FABAG, emphasized the negative impact of these increases on production and the broader economy. He suggested that the rising cost of living could drive people towards corrupt practices as they struggle to cope.
“People are under serious pressure, and when you keep pushing people to the wall like this, your fight against corruption is going to be zero or nullified, because clearly people are in survival mode. And any human being or any living thing that is in survival mode will do anything at all to survive, and corruption definitely will be one of the things that people will resort to in order to survive.”
He further highlighted the pervasive nature of corruption under these circumstances.
“No wonder you cannot get any file at the ministry passed without paying something. Literally, everybody seems to have privatized his or her desk to survive these living conditions.”
