Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has begun a nationwide revenue mobilization campaign to collect all arrears owed by its customers.
The company aims to recover around GH₵800 million in debts as of January 2023, up from GH₵684 million that was on its books as of January 2022. Private companies and individuals owe 90% of the debt, with government institutions accounting for the remaining 10%.
The GWCL Managing Director, Dr. Clifford Braimah, has joined a revenue mobilization task force to collect or disconnect private industries that owe the company.
The enforcement exercise was successful, with many industries willing to settle their arrears. However, some customers failed to settle their arrears, leading to disconnection.
Dr. Braimah noted that customers would be required to pay their arrears in full and reconnection fees before they would be reconnected. He emphasized 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.
The Deputy Managing Director of GWCL, Peter De-veer, stated that the arrears as of April 3, 2023, were GH¢140 million. He mentioned that it had become expensive to produce water because of illegal mining, sand winning, and farming either inside or close to the river bodies.
He also noted that the GWCL used the foreign exchange to procure chemicals to treat the polluted water to meet World Health Organisation standards. Such activities increased the turbidity of the rivers from which GWCL extracted water for treatment.
To make the payment process more convenient, Dr. Braimah urged GWCL customers to utilize online platforms such as the GWCL App or pay via mobile money. He expressed hope that the company would recover more than 50% of the money owed nationwide by the end of April.