Small scale businesses in Brong-Ahafo cry over power outages

Intermittent power outages in parts of Brong-Ahafo has attracted the displeasure of small-scale and medium-term businesses in the region.

Affected businesses include owners of barbering shops, cold stores, tailors, hairdressers, dressmakers, welders, and sachet water producers and sellers. The business entrepreneurs have therefore appealed to the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to set up regional and district offices to receive and help address their complaints with urgency.

At a sensitization meeting held at Nkoranza on Thursday, the entrepreneurs expressed worry that the PURC did not have offices at the district and regional levels.

The Brong-Ahafo Coalition of Business Association (BACBA) in collaboration with the Centre for Interest and Posterity Organisation (COPIO), a Non-Governmental Organisation, and service providers organised the meeting. Aimed at helping to identify and address bottlenecks affecting the economic activities of small-scale businesses, the meeting formed part of an advocacy project being implemented by the Association with support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC).

Mr. Mustapha Maison Yeboah, the Board Chairman of BACBA, described the operations of the Volta River Authority (VRA) particularly in Dormaa and Nkoranza Municipalities as well as Nkoranza North District as poor and appealed to the PURC to intervene.

He alleged that economic activities of many of the entrepreneurs in Brong-Ahafo were collapsing gradually because of rampant power outages Dr John Akparep, a researcher and a lecturer at the University of Development Studies (UDS) urged the PURC to place priority on interest of utility users and established offices at least at regional offices.