Illegal water connections – Communities urged to expose culprits

By Yvette Appiah,

(GWJN, Ghana Watsan Journalists Network)

Mr Ibrahim Musah

The Head of Policy and Partnership at WaterAid Ghana, Mr Ibrahim Musah, has lamented the excessive loss of treated water that is unaccounted for, when many parts of the country are still lacking in terms of water provision.

Entreating community members across the country to expose members who illegally connect and siphon water, he called on Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to also deal with the numerous gallons of treated unaccounted for water that does not reach consumers in the process of distribution.

Speaking July 14, 2013 on WASH Radio, a programme produced by the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network (GWJN) every Sunday on Accra-based Radio XYZ, he noted that some people in communities, as well as some industrial companies secretly siphon and use treated water that they do not pay for.

He explained that there are two ways that treated water is lost during distribution, which are the physical loss and commercial loss.

Ibrahim Musah pleaded with Government to allot enough funds to the water sector, to enable institutions such as the GWCL replace obsolete machines for efficiency.

Commending the Water Directorate of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing for formulating the Ghana Water Policy in 2007, he urged government to consider equipping institutions and civil society groups with funds to promote the water policy, as finance is a serious challenge to the implementation of the policy.

He added that Government should pay attention to critical areas such as the three ‘Ts’ namely taxes, tariffs and transfers, as the nation looks forward to the review of the policy this year.