UWR: PURC, GWCL appeal to the public to protect the Water bodies, pay their bills timely

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission in collaboration with the Ghana Water Company Limited embarked on a public sensitization drive drumming home, the need for the public to regularly pay their water bills in order to continue to receive the quality water the comapny supplies to the public.

The two institutions on September 21, 2024 matched through the principal streets of Wa holding placards with various inscriptions such as “Say no to illegal connections” “Pay your bills promptly” “get connected to the best quality water in Ghana” amongst others, creating public awareness on the significance of paying their bills regulary, protecting the water bodies and fighting againts illegal connections.

Mr. Wadud Ali, Upper West Regional Manager of the Public Utilities Regualtory Commission, says, the Upper West Region has the best of quality water supply by the GWCL, adding that, the last utilities performance index conducted, the Upper West Region was adjudged as the best amongst all the sixteen offices of the Ghana Water Company Limited.

He stressed the need for citizens in the Upper West Region who are yet to be connected to the services of the GWLC to kindly do so in order to enjoy the quality services of the GWLC.

“If you look at the Ghana Water in Upper West Region here, they have the best quality water in Ghana as it stands now, the last Ghana utilities performance index that was performed and the report was out, Ghana Water Limited out of the sixteen Ghana Water Offices in the country, Upper West Region has the best quality water but even with this we have so many people who are yet not connected to the services of Ghana Water in the Upper West Region, so they have a lot of water seated there, the best in the country so we needed to create awareness that, we have the best in the country not as other places that you find substances because of galamsey issues, we have the best why not get connected to it” he quizzes.

Mr. Wadud further noted that, the Ghana Water Company Limited has a Low Income Community Project that subsidizes the connection of the services of the company to low income generators adding that, the entire region has been earmarked as a low income area and thereby a potential beneficiary of the initiative hence, his plea on the public to take advantage of the initiative and enjoy the subsidy.

“They have a program, Low Income Community Program that subsidizes the connection because we have realized that here in the Upper West Region, many people are not getting connected to the service because they don’t have the money. They’ve rolled out this project and a lot of people have been connected, the last time I spoke to the one in charge of that project in Ghana Water Limited and he even told me that the whole of Upper West Region now have been earmarked as a low income area, so this is something all of us must tap in” Mr. Wadud added.

The Regional Manager of the PURC again called on the public to help protect the water bodies from galamsey activities adding that, duty bearers and the public must stand up and protect the water bodies before they are polluted by the activities of illegal miners that will force the GWCL to shut down as it is the case in other regions.

“We need to protect the water bodies you have here, don’t say that the galamsey issues are not here in Upper West Region, what I picked from Ghana Water is that it came up once in Dorimo which they reported and it was curbed, so let us not say that it is not here, we need to create awareness, we need to call on duty bearers to protect what we have here, we shouldn’t wait for it to happen here then we now come out to complain that our water bodies are going away, that Ghana Water would need to shutdown as they have done in other areas, we are blessed here and we must protect it” he stressed.

Mr. Wadud accented on the need for the public to pay their bills promptly adding that, the financial viability of the company is very crucial to aid them to continue to offer the best quality water to the population.

He however, bemoans the increasing rate of Water theft through illegal connection adding that, some people bypass the GWCL to tap water illegally admonishing the public to desist from the illicit act, stressing that ,if the perpetrators are not reported, their acts pose a lot of negative impact on the rest of the population.

“All of us must call them out, you are not a bad person if you report a neighbor stealing water, if you see a neighbour engaging in illegal connection, it is your civil responsibility as a citizen of the country to report these people to Ghana Water so that all of us can safe ourselves”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kwais Abebrese, Chief Regional Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Upper West Region, says, he may not be able to give definite figures about people who engage in illegal connection but was quick to add that, they chanced upon such cases during their rounds adding that, some good citizens also report perpetrators who engage in such act.

“For every illegal connection you maybe able to detect, there are four or five cases undetected, so in terms of money it will be difficult to put a finger on it, jut like my colleague manager said, it has a telling effect, one on the cost of water delivery, and essentially on the quality, people temper with our installations and what happens is that, surrounding dirty water syphoning back into the water system and that is spread through out the system for all of us the consumers and that is why we have to be very careful to prevent that kind of situation” he stated.

He spotted light on the pro – poor system, revealing that, the initiative is concentrated on the initial connection into the system stressing that the subsidy is done to aid people to get connected in to the system.
The manager also seized the opportunity and appealed to the public to get connected to the Ghana Water system adding that, it comes with the best of quality water.

He further stressed, the need for the public to promptly pay their bills in order to have a full benefit of the services of the Ghana Water Company Limited in the region.

Source: Saeed Fatawu|myghanawatch.com|W93.5FM|0248265593|