The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has revealed that illegal mining activities popularly known as galamsey, in the Western Region, is the cause for its inability to provide potable water for residents of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.

Shortage of water has hit parts of Sekondi-Takoradi and other communities in the Western region due to the low level of water at the intake points of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the region.

The problem has also been compounded by the onset of the dry season, according to the Ghana Water Company Limited.

The GWCL in a statement explained that, the “challenges arise from inadequate freshwater inflows into the Pra basin which is the source of raw water for the Daboase Water Treatment Plant, the biggest Plant in the Region. The Anankware River, which supplies raw water to the Inchaban Water Treatment Plant is equally facing its own freshwater inflow difficulties.”

“Compounding the current problem at Daboase are the activities of illegal miners upstream of the River Pra, causing severe siltation at the plant’s intake. The high silt deposits have drastically reduced the volume of raw water available for abstraction. The dry season currently being experienced has also exacerbated the problem of raw water unavailability.”
GWCL

According to the water supply institution, the result of these developments is that “the company is not able to produce enough water for residents, thus, worsening the already bad supply situation in the metropolis.” The GWCL to a greater extent explained that it has reviewed its water demand management programme to bring equity in the water distribution exercise.

However, the company, made known that there are still customers who are not likely to receive water despite the review of the water management programme due to the erratic pumping regime.

“Management of the company recognises and shares in the pain of consumers and are now doing everything they can to ameliorate their suffering, including dredging the intake of Daboase Treatment Plant which is currently ongoing.”
GWCL

Govt Yet To Pay GH₵14m Debt For Covid-19 Free Water

Meanwhile, The Community Water and Sanitation Agency has disclosed that the Akufo Addo led government is yet to make a payment of 14 million for the distribution of free water during the Covid-19 era.

An amount of GH₵37 million was budgeted for water systems under the community management policy. The government subsequently paid GH¢22 million to all the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies for onward release to the water systems within their jurisdictions.

Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee sittings, Mr. Worlanyo Siabi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, made known that there is an outstanding debt of GH₵14 million.

Also, the management of the Kintampo water system is complaining about the high indebtedness of state institutions to the firm which amounts to GH₵368,000.

We Backdated GH¢16,000 Receipts

Still on water supply, the management of Derma Water System in the Bono East Region has confessed to backdating GH¢16,000 receipt it was supposed to have issued in 2019.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, officials of the water system revealed that their suppliers backdated the receipt on Febeuary 1, 2023, to cover 2019 goods and services.

The Auditor General’s report indicated that the management in 2020 failed to provide the necessary receipts and invoices for the payments of GH¢16,000 to suppliers when the auditors visited the facility at the Tano South municipal assembly.

Confessing their actions to PAC, the officials divulged that, “we provided the receipts to auditors in the district on February 1, 2023. They are genuine receipts. It was yesterday that we attempted to submit to the audit service at the district. They didn’t take it, so we have copies here. We contacted our suppliers, so they backdated the receipts on February 1, 2023”. The officials added that they usually have to chase suppliers for receipts hence the delay.

“Most of the suppliers within the enclave usually don’t have invoices and receipts. Usually, we try to educate them to get the necessary documents when we want to undertake an activity. At times, they get you the invoices, and when it’s time for payments they struggle with the receipts. What the managers normally do is advance payments to them and later pursue the receipts.

“This is the practice that is happening at Derma. As an assembly, we were not aware of this development until this issue came up. When the auditors came they had the invoices, but the issue was the receipts, and they confused the invoices to be receipts.”
officials of Derma water system