Illegal connections prevent people from having access to water - Abena Dapaah
Only 45% of revenue from treated water is accounted for - Abena Dapaah
The Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has said that her ministry, through the Ghana Water Company Limited, will soon commence a house-to-house audit of the use of water by households.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra, the minister said that the campaign will form part of efforts to help reduce the revenue losses from water supply generated through illegal connections.
She added that illegal connection has also formed one of the major challenges of the water sector of Ghana, stressing that it does not only lead to loss of revenue but also causes disruptions in the supply of water.
“We have the challenge of illegal connection and this is a very serious issue. Just yesterday, a resident of Easter Legon was caught red-handed he had two big pipes into our main lines and had denied the whole catchment area of water.
“When he was apprehended and the pipes were disconnected immediately water started following in people’s homes but the most serious aspect of this crime is that people who he had denied water connection were buying water from him – he was selling water to them, illegally selling water without permit.
“I have proposed that very soon we will state the house-to-house audit of the water we use in our homes so that those of us who have been denied what by others can have the water following … the details will be worked out we need to do this, we will not be afraid of those who put beware of wild dog signs," she said.
Abena Dapaah further stated that the date for the campaign will not be disclosed, saying “it will be a constant sustainable way of making sure we reduce our non-revenue losses with regards to people who do illegal.”
Cecilia Abena Dapaah further disclosed that up to about 45 per cent of revenue from treated water is lost due to non-payment of bills, illegal connections and physical losses.
According to the minister, the figure is, however, a 9 per cent improvement from the 54 per cent non-revenue on water that was recorded in 2017.
Watch what Abena Dapaah said about the house-to-house water audit campaign:
