Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana are losing $2.2 million daily due to the power crisis, according to a new finding.
A study conducted by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) also revealed businesses lose about $686.4 million annually due to the incessant supply of electricity which has plagued Ghana over the past three years.
This is the first time a comprehensive study has quantified in monetary terms, losses suffered by businesses since the power crises began.
According to the opportunity cost per kilowatt analysis by ISSER’s Economic Division, the figure translates to about 2% of national output lost due to the energy crisis.
The report was carried out on over 1, 250 SMEs across all 10 regions of Ghana and it was revealed that the crisis has lowered the annual sales of these companies by about 37% to 48%.
The head of the Economic Division at ISSER, Dr. Charles Ackah said per the report dubbed: “Electricity insecurity and its impact on small business in Ghana,” it came out that only 20% of all MSEs have backup generating sets to support their businesses anytime the power goes off.
Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM