The Campaign Coordinator of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Dr. Steve Manteaw says government subsidy on electricity is not 'sincere.'
The Electricity Company of Ghana announced in a statement on Monday the implementation of utility relief to Electricity consumers.
READ MORE: Gov't reduces cost of electricity
"It also provides a subsidy which is energy based for industrial and commercial customer,” the statement added.
But Manteaw argues that government has not been sincere with Ghanaians when it said the legacy debt has increased due to subsidies.
“Subsidies are very crucial in protecting the vulnerable among us in policy making, but in this particular instance I do not think that government is very sincere in the sense that the legacy debt has arisen as a result of subsidies,” he to Citi FM Tuesday.
“Government’s own explanation in imposing a 10 percent levy on Ghanaians recently is that it has accumulated debt over the period, the bulk of which were unpaid subsidies. So now we are not too sure if we should accept these subsidies,” he added.
READ MORE:Electricity subsidy 'should be taken with a pinch of salt'
Meanwhile, a former Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority, Dr. Charles Wrekko Brobbey, has said the new utility relief "should be taken with a pinch of salt."
He said "it is not true" government is subsidizing power, claiming that consumers "are being charged VAT, energy levies, street light among others and those have gone up from almost 1 to about 5 percent..."