Water consumers in Lower Manya Krobo hit with inordinate hike in tariffs

Correspondence from Eastern Region

Consumers of water in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region have been hit with an astronomical rise in water tariffs for February 2023, contrary to the announced 8.3 percent rise in the rate of the commodity.

Commercial and residential consumers have described the hikes as unreasonable and unbearable, particularly at this time.

Within a period of fewer than six months, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) shot up water tariffs significantly on two occasions, 21.55 percent from September 2022, and an 8.3 percent increase which took effect from February 1, 2023, totaling almost 30%.

The affected customers mostly commercial water operators backed their complaints with samples of the February 2023 bills. It was observed that the previous unit charge of Ghc11.2 rose to Ghc 30.00 with service charges also rising inordinately from GH¢7.29 to GH¢100, resulting in astronomical monthly total tariffs.

The consumers said the increase in utility tariffs is too high.

In one instance, Mr. Evans Kumah, a victim who paid GH¢481 and GH¢573 for December 2022 and January 2023 respectively has seen his February bill more than double to GH¢1,088.

He said though the immediate option for the commercial operators was to shut down their facilities, they reconsidered this because residential users depended on them for their water supply.

Mr. Francis Tetteh Anim, a commercial water operator at Kpongunor who said his bill jumped from GH¢400 in January 2023 to GH¢2,046 in February said, “The service charge in the February bill has risen to Ghc100 so a bucket of water previously sold for GH¢1 has risen to GH¢3.00, that previously sold for GH¢0.50 now sells for GH¢1 so patronage has dropped drastically. People no longer come and there are no wells here.”

He said though he previously sold water up to GH¢50 in a day, he hardly makes Ghc20 since the increment as patrons found the new prices too high to bear.

According to him, they had no option but to raise their charges in order not to run at a loss following the hikes.

A pensioner, Mr. Edmund Kojo Tetteh who makes a living out of running a commercial standpipe expressed concern over the increment. While his December and January bills read GH¢165 and GH¢169 respectively, that of February sky-rocketed more than twofold to GH¢409 with same units consumed.

Some domestic consumers of the commodity in an interview expressed regret at the hikes. One of them, Eunice Teye said she must now spend a fortune on potable water for her household. She said, “Previously, I fetched this pan for one cedi, now, it’s GH¢2.50. It is very expensive; I fetch five pans every day.”

Another who gave his name as Paul wielding a mini bucket which he said previously cost forty pesewas lamented that same now costs one cedi to fetch. Paul said, “the situation is very difficult, we can no longer fetch the quantity we need, our children can no longer wash their school uniforms.”

They, therefore, appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency intervene and reduce the water bills to enable consumers to afford it.

With no alternative sources of water in a community such as Kpongunor, residents are forced to return to surface water from a nearby stream known as Nateynguam for their daily usage.

Nene Asawatse Agah Kwabla II, a sub-divisional chief of Suisi-Kpongunor expressed regret over the situation.

The Asawatse said, “Water is life, if you’re deprived of water, you’ll die. There’s groundwater here called Nateynguam, that’s what our people now fetch to drink and for other purposes because the cost of water is now high.”

He, therefore, appealed to the PURC and management of the GWCL to intervene urgently to address the problem.

Manager of the Eastern Regional Office of the PURC Mr. Jude Asamoah Addo when contacted told GhanaWeb that the previous monthly service charge of GH¢7.29 had been increased to GH¢20 and referred this portal to the Ghana Water Company Limited for explanations for the GH¢100 increment.

Though the unit charge for commercial operators which rose from GH¢11.2 to GH¢30.00 did not reflect the announced 8.3%, Mr. Asamoah Addo nevertheless insisted that the rate reflected the new gazetted water tariffs effective 1st February 2023.

GhanaWeb is however reliably informed that management of the PURC has invited some residents of Lower Manya Krobo to a meeting in Accra on Friday, 31st March 2023 to address the issue.