Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance
The Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has clarified that the recent increases in electricity and water tariffs are part of Ghana’s obligations under its ongoing program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
His comments come in the wake of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) announcement of a 14.75% increase in electricity tariffs and a 4.02% rise in water charges, both set to take effect on May 3, 2025.
Dr Ato Forson, speaking at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 explained that the tariff adjustments were a requirement for Ghana to access the next $370 million tranche under the IMF deal.
“We have begun the implementation, which you recently saw, the quarterly adjustment by PURC, which was supposed to have been done by last year. But we have ensured that it has been done in line with the statutory benchmark as agreed in the third review,” he explained.
Dr Ato Forson also responded to growing speculation about a possible renegotiation of Ghana’s agreement with the IMF, making it clear that the government has no intention of revisiting the terms.
“Renegotiating presupposes that you don’t believe in the program, and so you want to open up the conversation to look at other parameters of the program. That isn’t the position of the government. The government is committed to the implementation to achieve the objectives of the IMF program,” he said.
The finance minister further acknowledged that although some structural benchmarks and quantitative targets were missed prior to the current administration taking office, the government remains focused on meeting the program’s goals moving forward.
MA
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