The Communications Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Stanley Martey, has debunked claims that the company has disconnected schools within its Tema region.
A number of Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Eastern Region and Accra which fall under the GWCL’s Tema region, including Ada SHS and Chemu SHS, were said to have been disconnected by the GWCL.
However, in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday, Mr. Martey said that the company had not disconnected any schools so far, but had only gone in to demand money that was owed them.
“What you are hearing in recent times is that we go in to demand our money, and so far, we have not disconnected any of the schools. We have requested and demanded for our money, but we have not disconnected any schools,” he stated.
However, Mr. Martey explained that the company would not hesitate to do so if any SHS was recalcitrant in paying its bills.
“Per our standard operating procedures, we do not disconnect schools. Schools are classified as essential service providers, so we do not disconnect them. We only disconnect them when they have been recalcitrant in the payment of their bills or when they have deliberately refused to settle their bills.”
“Sometimes, we receive a communication from the secretariat that handles the Free SHS program, stating that we should go and disconnect some of the schools. This is perhaps because they have released some of the funds to them, so we go there to demand the money,” he stated.