Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has justified its demand for 124 per cent increment in water tariff.
According to the company, higher tariffs were needed to enhance its ability to provide potable water to more people.
The GWCL is demanding 124 per cent increment in water from GHC1.78 to GHC4 per 1,000 litres.
The Managing Director of the GWCL, Ing. Frederick C. Lokko, justified the demand of the company at the celebration of its 50th anniversary in Accra Thursday.
The celebration was on the theme: “Potable water provision in Ghana; prospects for the future.”
The government used to guarantee loans for water projects, Ing Lokko said, but the company is now bearing its own cost, hence the need for the increment to to raise sufficient money to fund its projects.
“Funding for capital expansion works which hitherto was absorbed by government is now to be borne by us under the new debt management policy, and this means that we must operate in a more efficient manner. It also means that we need much higher water tariffs than we are currently operating with,” he stated.
With the demand for water growing, Ing. Lokko further explained that it was also necessary to expand the capacities of the company’s systems to keep pace with the growing population in order to achieve the government’s vision of 100 per cent coverage by the year 2025.
He said the company has, for the past 50 years, undergone various reforms with the objective of adapting to and coping with both local and global environmental challenges.
Going forward, the managing director said the company would leverage technology to reach out to customers and to make it easier for them to access water services.
He expressed gratitude to the development partners and staff of the company for their immense contribution to the development of the water sector over the years, especially, in urban water coverage.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Kweku Agyemang Mensah, said the GWCL, by dint of hard work and exhibition of high professionalism, had made the company admirable across the continent.
With support from partners, he said the company could boast a number of projects including the Kpong Water Supply and the Teshie-Nungua Sea Water Desalination aimed at delivering safe, adequate and affordable water for Ghanaians.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
