<<Print>>

The Acting Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Arnold Seshie, has said his team has called for documents on the operations of the management contractor, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) for review. The review, he said, would determine whether the existing contract between AVRL and GWCL which ends later this year should be renewed or not. �As at now, we have not taken any decision on the operations of AVRL. I believe they are performing and are operating within the law and the arrangements within the signed agreement but we still have to thoroughly check them,� he stated Aqua Vitens Rand Limited has been at the receiving end of criticisms from the Ghanaian public over the last three years since it assumed responsibility as management contractor of GWCL with regard to its purported inability to ensure effective distribution of water to households in the country. The South African company signed a five-year management contract with the Government of Ghana through the Ghana Water Company Limited to utilize a World Bank loan for effective operations in the water sector. Many Ghanaians, including Civil Society Organizations, have called for the abrogation of the contract after accusing the company of non-performance. Officials of the company however believe that problems associated with water distribution and management in Ghana are numerous and that it would take years to resolve such problems hence the decision to move on a slow pace according to Mr. Seshie, Ghana has gone a long way in the effective provision of water to the people of Ghana and that efforts were underway to perform some major expansion projects in the country to ensure free flow of water to all Ghanaians. He said some funds had been released for expansion works to be done at the Kpone Water Works near Akosombo in the Eastern Region. That, he said will help in strengthening distribution capacity in the southern part of Ghana. He also refuted claims that the company was in the process of increasing tariffs on water as is being speculated by a section of the general public. �We have not sent any proposal to the public utility Regulatory Commission, PURC for tariffs increment�. He stated, �Presently, our concern is about how water distribution could be effectively done and if there is a need for tariff increment it would be done appropriately,� he added.