Residents of Sekondi-Takoradi are owing Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) over GH₵23 million for water supplied, the Acting Chief Manager of the company in the Western Region, Nana Yaw Barima Barnie, has disclosed.
According to him, the huge debt is affecting operations, preventing the company from regular water supply.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Barnie announced that the Ghana Water Company Limited is initiating a revenue mobilization campaign aimed at recovering the outstanding GH₵ 23 million.
He added that the initiative is crucial for sustaining the company’s water supply operations in the region.
“Currently, Ghana Water Company has a big issue of arrears owed by customers. Countrywide, we are owed in excess of GHS800 million and when you come to Western Region alone, the arrears are in excess of GHS23millions and that is a big problem for us,” he said.
Mr. Barnie highlighted that the non-payment of bills negatively impacts operational strength, as the organization relies on imported inputs for water treatment.
“Ghana Water Company at the moment is not a subverted organisation and so what we need to do in our day-to-day operations, we need to depend on the bills our customers pay us. Thus, we buy chemicals in foreign currencies, pipes, fuel our vehicles, maintain equipment breakdowns which happen frequently, pay salaries of staff and a lot more.
“All these require a lot of money, and that money comes from the bills customers pay. So if you have a customer who pays you just GHS300 out of a bill of GHS,1000, it means you’re not in good business,” he noted in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on Citi News.
Mr. Barnie further stated that the company is embarking on an intensive revenue mobilisation to recover these arrears with disconnections for defaulters.
“We are moving from house to house to collect bills that people owe us from now till December end. If we come to your house, we expect that you pay us what you owe us. It is not in our interest to disconnect a customer, so we want customers to pay their bills even before we get there,” he added.