Consumers owe the Ghana Water Company, 800 million cedis. As a result, the company says it is embarking on an intensive exercise to collect the money owed it.
The company is out to collect about GH₵800 million in debts as of January this year, up from GH₵684 million debts that stood on the company’s books as of January 2022.
This was when in September 2022, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) increased the average end-user tariff for water by 21.55 per cent, increasing the debt situation to GH₵800 million.
Out of the amount, private companies and individuals account for 90 per cent, while government institutions account for 10 per cent.
According to the GWCL, whereas the government institutions had been making efforts to settle their debt, consumers in the private sector had been quoting unfavourable business conditions for the accumulation of their debts.
Teshie/Nungua
In view of that, the Managing Director of GWCL, Dr Clifford Braimah, yesterday joined a revenue mobilisation task force team from its Accra East District to collect or disconnect private industries who owed the company.
The team visited the D.U. Fresh Company, Kata Company Limited, Printex Limited, Interplast Limited and Waka Building Limited.
However, D.U. Fresh Company, which owed GH¢163,000, was disconnected for failing to settle its arrears.
Dr Braimah noted that the affected customers would be made to settle arrears in full and pay reconnection fees before they would be reconnected.
Enforcement exercise
He mentioned that the GWCL would not tolerate customers who refused to settle their arrears with the excuse that they did not have water flowing through their taps.
“We are not a prepaid company; we are a postpaid company.
This means that we collect bills on water consumed,” he said, explaining that what had been consumed involved the usage of chemicals and electricity by the GWLC.
