Ghanaians will be made to pay back Free Electricity, Water next year – Kwesi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt says the Akufo-Addo government’s cost incurred for providing free water and electricity, will be paid back by Ghanaians next year.

According to Kwesi Pratt who was speaking on Peace FM's kokrokoo show , the country will see an astronomical rise in utility tariffs, due to Akufo-Addo’s ‘free water and electricity initiative’.

"I will not be surprised if next year tariffs on water and electricity go up."

He said Ghanaians should not be too happy about ‘Akufo-Addo’s Freebies’. Adding that,  the cost of these COVID-19 induced initiatives will be borne by the citizenry later.

"We should not forget the fact we're going to pay for it. Why am I saying we'll pay for it? Where is the money coming from? Is it not from our taxes? We'll surely pay back," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.

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Meanwhile, Ghana's President, Nana Akufo-Addo Dankwa had earlier dismissed comments from the camp of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that government's 'free water and free electricity' initiative was aimed at influencing his re-election bid in the upcoming polls.

The President said the free utilities initiative by government was to cushion the ordinary Ghanaian amid the Covid-19 pandemic .

According to him, his government deemed it important to take out some loads from the heads of Ghanaians during this difficult time.

“That was being done because the pandemic has brought a lot of difficulties to the people of Ghana. The first responsibility of government is to protect the people especially in times of difficulty”.

He continued “a government which is not able to do that in times of difficulty, in my view isn’t a government worth staying.

  “A caring government is a government when things become difficult for his people will step in because of good policies and efficient management to be able to protect the people and that’s what we have done”, he stated.

“If our economy had not been strengthened in the three years before the pandemic broke out, these measures you are talking about would have been very expensive and impossible to provide free water, free electricity and free meals. All these are indications of the strength of the Ghanaian economy before the pandemic,” he added.