The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, has urged the public to protect Ghana Water Limited (GWL) assets and halt illegal connections to avoid disruptions in water supply systems.
He added that safeguarding water installations and ensuring prompt payment of bills would help GWL to enhance service delivery to the public.
Mr Akwaboa said this in a speech read on his behalf at the Customer Service Week celebration of the Bono Regional office of the GWL in Sunyani, the regional capital.
It was on the theme, "Mission: Possible — Together We Serve, Together We Thrive."
Some 11 customers, including staff and institutions, were honoured for their outstanding dedication, loyalty and patronage.
Population growth
Mr Akwaboa said that the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions continue to grow in population, thus placing more responsibility on GWL to meet the rising demand for sustainable and efficient water supply.
He expressed the government’s commitment to supporting the company to improve its services.
The minister, however, urged the management of the company to modernise their customer service platforms, expand digital payment systems, and ensure transparency in their operations.
Debt recovery
The Bono Regional Chief Manager, Theophilus Collins, appealed to consumers to ensure prompt payment of bills to maintain equipment and ensure constant water flow.
He said providing potable water had become more expensive due to environmental factors and current economic trends.
"The only source of revenue to maintain our infrastructure, equipment and our entire operations is the water bills we pay," Mr Collins said.
“We have begun a massive disconnection exercise as a last resort, and it will continue till the end of the year," he added.
The manager said his outfit was owed over GH¢10 million by customers.
He further mentioned challenges the company was facing in the region to include ageing infrastructure, demand exceeding supply, climate variability, encroachment of their lands, vandalism, stealing of water meters and non-payment of bills.
Mr Collins called for collaboration among policy makers, security services, regulators and communities to resolve the challenges.
He said the GWL had introduced full implementation of the electronic billing system and *1010# short code to improve operations.
The manager said GWL had extended its pipeline network to cover Techiman in the Bono East Region; Dormaa, Berekum, and Sunyani in the Bono Region; and Techimentia, Acherensua, and Dwomo in the Ahafo Region.
Timely response
A Senior lecturer at the Sunyani Technical University (STU), Dr Abraham Yeboah, urged engineers at GWL to ensure a swift response to leakages to prevent wastage.
He also encouraged them to advise customers on water conservation and adopt payment plans to reduce bill accumulation.
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