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PREPAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY IS NOT IN TUNE WITH GHANA’S DEVELOPMENT STATUS

 

David Azuliya

January 16, 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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PREPAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY IS NOT IN TUNE WITH GHANA’S DEVELOPMENT STATUS

Commentary, Jan 16, 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.

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