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PREPAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY IS NOT IN TUNE
WITH GHANA’S DEVELOPMENT STATUS
David Azuliya
January 20, 2014
Just yesterday, the nation’s airwaves were busy chanting both
praise and lamentation over a planned intention of the Ghana
Water Company Ltd to introduce and implement a pre-paid metering
service for water supply in the country by the end of the year
2014. It must be noted that this is not the first time such a
plan has been divulged into the public since a similar statement
of intent came on air in the latter part of November 2012.
Even though the Ghana Water Company Ltd is justifiable for such
intentions as it will ensure efficient revenue collection and
subsequent investment to improve quality of delivery and extend
the coverage of supply. It is a known fact that the Ghana Water
Company Ltd has made several requests to the Public Utilities
Regulatory Commission for increases in utility tariffs over
countless number of times for the reason of poor financial
capability.
Also, it is not a surprise that consumers have often been
stretched to their limit whereby they are unable to access water
for periods ranging between days and months. It is this poor
delivery of service that has often caused public anger over
attempts by the utility companies to seek utility price
increases. It should therefore, be of delight to all consumers
when the Ghana Water Company Ltd undertakes measures to improve
revenue collection so as to ensure improved supply of quality
water.
In Namibia, the implementation of a pre-paid metering service
has been much of a blessing as expectations of consumers are not
far from reality in water delivery. This follows the
implementation of one such project by TagMeter Namibia in many
cities around the country including the capital city of
Windhoek. According to many, it has resolved the problems of
having air spurting out anytime the tap is opened as against the
expectation of gushing water. Such a project is now being
thought of as the key to Africa’s potable water delivery
especially in the urban areas. Therefore, it is no surprise that
such a project has become an option for the Ghana Water Company
Ltd.
However, it is not an easy way to solve the problems of people
by ensuring strict payment systems even when same has the
potential of depriving many of access to a basic necessity like
water.
First of all, it ought to be a question of whether the country
has reached that position where access to safe water is no more
the priority but the plunging revenue situation of the utility
company. In this regard, it is not ripe for the Ghana Water
Company Ltd to start concentrating on the revenue and
expenditure balance when as many as over six million Ghanaians
are without access to safe drinking water. In a developing
country like Ghana as in many others around the world, efforts
to improve living standards and improve sanitation and health
are expressed in the rolling out of social intervention programs
including supply of safe drinking water. Any effort at this
point in our development to intensify privatization and
commercialization of basic necessities of life would be
premature and inhumane.
First of all, the pre-paid metering service in use by the
Electricity Company of Ghana has several challenges that one
ought to be careful not to transfer to water supply since water
is a basic necessity. One such challenge is the fact that
technical problems associated with it often leave consumers of
electricity in the dark for a number of days before such
problems are later resolved. The question one will ask is as to
whether it is easy to cope without water in the same manner as
with electricity.
Any attempt to commercialize access to water in this manner is a
violation of the fundamental human right to life itself and an
attempt to redistribute such right according to the economic
status of the people. This argument recognizes the social
configuration of the Ghanaian society as mostly vulnerable and
poor. In effect, asking people to pay before using water is a
statement to the effect that one of the free gifts of nature
necessary for life must be paid for. This is dangerous not just
because it will lead to limited access to water; but also
because it will further widen the gap between the rich and the
poor in terms of living standards even with regards to life’s
most vital commodity.
Another dimension of opposition to this project stands in the
area of health. This is because very serious outbreaks of
sanitation related diseases such as cholera sometimes back in
the major cities of Accra and Kumasi have been fatal. In
Zimbabwe where a similar project was being planned, opposition
stirred up the health debate by justifying negative implications
of it in terms of poor sanitation especially in slum areas which
are mostly inhabited by poor people. They supported their
argument with the events of 2008 and 2009 when serious
sanitation problems occasioned by insufficient access to potable
water led to more than 4,000 deaths. In Ghana, the sanitation
situation is already not good enough and as such it should be a
point to note that such a project has serious problems relating
to the very health of the people.
No matter how long it will take the Ghana Water Company Ltd to
implement such a project, it will not be a surprise that
communities will wage against it especially when water pumping
machines are situated in such communities drawing and pumping
water from their reservoirs. It is not new that very often the
communities where water is drawn and pumped to the major cities
are deficient in terms of access to potable water. That alone
has caused deep seated resentment to the activities of the Ghana
Water Company Ltd and as such, extending it beyond the elbow can
be detrimental. For instance, in many communities where water
pipes ran through to the cities, faults and damages to them have
often being good news to residents who sometimes carry out the
damage themselves.
The Ghana Water Company Ltd should not be surprised that a
project of this nature might inflame already huge public anger
in remote communities and lead to vandalism of pipelines and
other property of the Company.
Bearing this in mind, it is my opinion that the Ghana Water
Company Ltd should not implement such a project in whole across
the country. What ought to be done is to identify agencies that
depend on water from the Ghana Water Company Ltd for purely
commercial activities. This will be an attempt to reduce impact
on poor rural communities and residential areas since such
categories depend on it as an essential commodity. This is
laudable in view of the fact that residential usage of water is
insignificant as compared to commercial usage. Apart from this,
concentration can also be on dense urban areas as against rural
areas since most rural dwellers do not even have access to tap
water delivered by the Ghana Water Company Ltd and as such, it
might be inconsequential in extending the project to such areas.
However, if the Ghana Water Company Ltd succeeds in implementing
such a project, it will be incumbent on government to intervene
to salvage the plight of minorities. Over the years, governments
have undertaken to provide access to good drinking water
especially to rural communities through the drilling of
boreholes. This ought to be intensified to reduce the over 6
million people in the country who have no access to safe
drinking water.
It is my believe and that of many citizens that the Ghana Water
Company Ltd does not operate in a vacuum and as such government
can bring reason to bear on its intentions. At this particular
point when every aspect of life in our country is overly
commercialized and burdened with high tariffs and costs, it is
not good enough for government to isolate itself from the
intentions of the Ghana Water Company Ltd even when same will
add to the burden of the people.
Government must be reminded that its citizens are not foreigners
and as such any attempts at making life costly and
over-burdensome on the people might result in severe security
concerns as happens in many countries especially in Brazil
during the Confederations Cup in 2013.
Water is a basic necessity of life and it must be the duty of
every government to provide limitless access not just to water
in general, but to safe drinking water. Improving sanitation and
its related diseases is a global concern and any government that
falls behind in this regard risks losing out on the respect and
support of the world community.
By
David Azuliya
Mobile: 050-5005-012
Email: apaladola@mail.com
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