The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is gearing up to take legal measures against customers who remain in arrears by the end of May 2024, with plans to publicly disclose names and outstanding amounts in national newspapers.
The Public Relations Manager at GWCL, Stanley Martey, emphasized the necessity of stricter actions due to the significant impact of customer indebtedness on the company’s operations.
Currently facing accumulated debts amounting to approximately 1.2 billion cedis over a decade, GWCL aims to sustain and enhance its services by collaborating with customers on feasible payment solutions.
“We need to take more harsher steps. We are giving customers who are indebted to us up to the middle of May to settle their bills. If they fail to do that, then we will name and shame, ” Stanley Martey stated.
Martey emphasised the importance of water bill revenues for infrastructure maintenance, service continuity, and expansion projects.
“Accumulated debts hinder the company’s ability to sustain its operations efficiently, maintaining existing systems, infrastructure, uninterrupted services, and undertaking expansion projects to provide essential water services to the unserved and underserved communities.
“The revenue generated from water bills is crucial for sustaining and improving the water infrastructure and our services across the country. The company aims to collaborate with customers to find feasible solutions, including implementing flexible payment arrangements for those with substantial debts and obvious challenges.
“Customers are being notified, that the company will use all legal means possible to retrieve all arrears.”
He warned that GWCL would utilize all legal avenues to recover outstanding dues from defaulting customers.