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Some water consumers are owing state water producer Ghana Water Company Limited ¢800 million in unpaid bills.
The utility provider has started chasing those consumer to pay their bill.
Failure to do so means they get disconnected.
As of January 2022, the debt was ¢684 million.
It rose to ¢800 million after the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) approved a 22-per cent tariff hike for GWCL
Speaking to journalists during one of the disconnection exercises in Tema, the Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, Mr Peter De-Veer said: “90% of the arrears is owed by private consumers, as the government owes only 10%”.
He said the government “is paying but the business operators claim the economic conditions are unfavourable but we are all operating in it”.
“These people operate and make profit”, he noted.
Mr De-Veer said consumers in Tema, alone, owe ¢140 million out of the total ¢800 million.
Together with Accra, consumers in the two cities account for 60% of the arrears.
According to him, GWCL is having to spend more in producing water because of the devastating impact of illegal mining on their water sources.
“The pollution is telling on us”, he complained, adding: “If we are not very careful, the arrears will choke the life out of Ghana Water Company and the country cannot exist without us”.
“So what do we have to do? We have to sit up and move to the houses and the industries and tell those who are using our water to do business that; ‘no, it is time for you to pay!” he said.
He wondered how a nation comprised majorly of Christians and Muslims would suffer such fate.
“Do you feel good praying to God and Allah in such a situation,” he asked
He said the disconnection exercise “is not out of the blue”, noting: “We have been sending notices to warn them but nothing has come out of it. There is very little we can do at this point than to go ahead”
State power producer Electricity Company of Ghana also began a similar exercise a few weeks ago.