Communities Cry For Water

... Whilst GWCL Leaves ?30b Unused
The Minister of Works and Housing last Friday, reprimanded the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) for failing to access a ?30 billion HIPC fund set aside by the government to extend water to some parts of the country hit by acute water shortage.

?Funds have been secured by the government for GWCL to resolve the acute water shortage that has hit some parts of the country, but the company is seemingly unwilling to access the fund,? Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Minister of Works and Housing said.

Alhaji Idris revealed this to the media in Accra during a meeting with the management and Board of Directors of GWCL. ?I have chosen to say this publicly because time is not on our side, and the GWCL does not have to treat people with contempt,? he added.

The GWCL has persistently been criticized by many water consumers for failing to deliver on its mandate of ensuring equitable and reliable water supply. Many urban areas in the country are facing acute water shortage. The hardest hit includes Madina, Pokuase and Adenta in Accra, Cape Coast in the Central Region, and Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

?Unfortunately, the impression is being created that government is insensitive to the plight of water consumers,? Alhaji Idris said. According to the Minister, GWCL had no reason to fail Ghanaians since it had the resource and the expertise to deliver on its mandate.

He said where the company had to ration water for one reason or the other, it owed consumers the responsibility to adequately inform them about the situation. Alhaji Idris said reports reaching him indicated that some staff of the corporation were in league with some people and water tanker owners to whom they regularly supply water to sell at exorbitant prices.

Alhaji Idris cautioned the management ?to be up and doing before the axe fell on them.? He added that their attitude constituted a disincentive to investment in he country.

The managing Director of GWCL, Samuel G.O. Lamptey, responding, said the delay in accessing the funds was as a result of the corporation?s commitment to ensuring transparency in the award of the contracts.

Mr. Lamptey however, explained that the bid documents had been sent to the contractors and he gave the assurance that the situation would change for the better. He stated that the urban water demand per day nationwide is 990,000 cubic metres and 45 per cent of the water produced for urban Ghana cannot be accounted for due to pipe bursts and ?theft, or illegal supply.

Mr. Lamptey also said 45 per cent of the 320,000 urban customers nationwide were not hooked to meters, hence their being billed on ?rough estimate? monthly.