High utility bills cripple hospitality industry

By Benjamin Glover | Tuesday, 08 April 2014 Page 55 The Tema Region branch of the Ghana Progressive Hotels Association (GAPROHA) has appealed to government to consider the rated status of hotels by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which is crippling the hospitality industry. The association said being rated by the new tariff structure which puts them to the level of as a manufacturing companies is affecting the operations of the hospitality industry and will compel the operators to close down . According to the GAPROHA, hotels have all along been levied as commercial entities but to their surprise per the new tariff increases, hotels have now been elevated to the status of Special Load Tariff - Low Voltage (SLT-LV) which is the same as manufacturing companies by the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG) in its billing cycle. This according to them has lead to losses in revenue to the state, retarded growth in the sector and a massive unemployment as a result of their inability to operate. The association made the observation at its caucus meeting held in Tema to find ways of redeeming the industry and also to take steps to remedy the situation. The Association stated that with the new status, energy tariffs have risen significantly in recent times and become unbearable and difficult to remunerate its workers. They said they could foresee the closure of a greater number of operators because of their inability to foot their energy bills. Briefing the media at the meeting, the National President of the GAPROHA, Nana Kodjo Opei IV, appealed to the government to consider the plight of the hoteliers and come out with appropriate directive to help sustain the industry. He explained that hoteliers have over the years regularly and patiently been absorbing steady increases in our overheads, particularly utility bills without drawing the authorities attention to their situation which has affected their finances Nana Opei IV stressed that the Association has come out because the situation has reached an alarming point . He noted that as manufacturers could pass on the increases to products, the same cannot be said of hotels. Nana Opei stated that Ghana is not a good tourist center and therefore they cannot pass on the current tariff increases to our guests, He appealed to government to in the interim placed hotels in the commercial category in order to lessen their burden stressing that if that was not done, the sector faces collapse or forcible closure of a large number of hotels. -End-