President John Mahama has blamed the high cost of electricity tariffs in Ghana on power theft.

According to him, until Ghanaians are bold enough to report citizens involved in the malpractice, tariffs will continue to surge.

Power theft is the criminal practice of stealing electrical power. It is punishable by fines and incarceration in most countries.

According to a study by the Emerging Markets Smart Grid, the world loses US$89.3 billion annually to electricity theft.

Speaking at the launch of a new metering system, 'Smart Meters', in Accra, Mahama said Ghana appears not to be progressing because citizens shy away from reporting wrongdoers.

“For every person who steals power, he makes power more expensive for those of us paying. And that is why our tariffs are high.

“If your neighbour is stealing power, know that he is responsible for the higher tariffs you are paying. Sometimes we see it but in Ghana we have this unhelpful tradition that we call “Konkonsa”; if you go and say it, they say you are “Konkonsa” (gossip), and so we watch on for people to sabotage the country and that is why the country is not progressing,” he lamented.