GWCL disconnects KNUST, three others for non-payment of bills
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Kumasi has disconnected three institutions for owing it a total of GH¢7.3 million in water consumption.
They are the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science of Technology (KNUST) which owed GWCL GH¢6 million; Kumasi Polytechnic, GH¢456, 777.40 and Ghana Prisons Service staff quarters, GH¢826, 700.
Directive
Speaking to the Graphic Online after the disconnection exercise, the Regional Communications Director of the company, Mr Sampson Ampah said the company had to embark on the exercise following the refusal of the three institutions to pay their debts.
He said sometime last year, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, sent a directive to all the ministries, departments and agencies that government would no longer pay for their water consumptions.
Following that, he said the GWCL wrote to the institutions indicating that the company would be billing them for their water consumption and asked them to make arrangement to pay.
Reminders
According to Mr Ampah, the company has sent reminders to these institutions and held meetings with some of them on the way forward.
He said while some of these public institutions, particularly the first and second cycle institutions have accepted the new directives and making efforts to pay for their water consumptions, many of the tertiary institutions and other institutions have refused to pay their debts.
Mr Ampah said as part of its internal reforms, the company was embarking on a revenue mobilization exercise to ensure that it retrieved all debt owed it by individuals and institutions.
He said the exercise was not limited to only these institutions but would be extended to all debtors including individual homes.
100 Day high impact programme
Mr Ampah explained that the exercise also formed part of the 100 High Impact performance programme the company signed with the Ministry in collaboration with the World Bank to improve on its performance.
He said as part of the exercise, the company would improve on its performance and expansion programmes.
KNUST appeal
When contacted, the Deputy Registrar of University Relations of KNUST, Mr Vincent Ankomah Lomotey, admitted that the university owed the company but said “we cannot pay the bill.”
He said the university was aware of the directive and had also made an appeal to the Ministry to reconsider the decision as the university would have to pass on the bill to the students “and that will be too much for parents to bear.”
Notwithstanding the disconnection, he said there was no problem with academic activity as most of the halls had boreholes.
He said if there was any disconnection at all, “it is the residences that would be affected not the hostels or halls of residences.”
Mr Lomotey said the university’s appeal to government was to rescind the decision to make universities pay for their utility bills as they would be forced to pass them on to the students.
