Ghana Water Company needs expansion to meet growing demands – Manager
Miss Paulina Richter, Dansoman District Head of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has said the company needs to expand its facilities to meet the growing demands of water supply from the population.
“We do not deliberately stop the flow of water from the pipes just to punish the people”, she said.
“The same facility which was built in 1965 to serve the small population around that time is still what is being used,” she stressed.
Miss Richter made the assertion at a forum at Sukura, a suburb of Accra to commemorate this year’s World Water Day under the theme; “World Water Day 2013 – Implementation year of Water Cooperation.”
The programme was organised by ProNet Association, a non-governmental organisation, which is into the provision of water and sanitation amenities to schools and communities in the Ablekuma Central Sub-Metro. It was sponsored by Water Aid.
The District Manager said water production challenges had become enormous and that it was about time the citizenry cooperate with the government to find lasting solutions to them.
“I have to be sincere with you that the company is operating below capacity. We cannot internationally stop the supply of water to you from whose bills we earn our salaries. We have to make do with the little that we have.”
At the open forum, the people expressed concern about some of the problems they face such as water flowing from the taps late in the night, water metres running by air pressures, which create huge bills and their calls to the company which are not picked as well as particles found in the water.
Miss Richter appealed to the customers to bear with the company while government is making frantic efforts through all available means to find solutions to the challenges so that Ghanaians would enjoy quantity and quality water.
She called on the NGOs to assist the communities with erratic water supply by providing them with water tanks for storage.
Mr Degraft Essel, Distribution Officer, GWCL, urged the people to report any burst pipe to the authorities for early remedy to prevent particles from entering the pipes.
Alhaji Peter Ahmed Quarshie, popularly known as (Peter Tee), Assemblyman for Sukura used the occasion to advise the people to desist from dropping waste and faeces into the drains.
“We the people in the Muslim communities should not be seen dressed neatly outside while our communities look filthy. We clean the gutters today and the next day they are filled with the same things. When you do that you discredit we the Assemblymen for not doing anything.”
Celebrating the Day, students from Ansarudeen Islamic Complex School marched through the community carrying placards, which some read; “Water gives life”, “Protect our water bodies”, “70% of human body is water”, “Stop destroying our water reserves”, “Water regulates body temperature” and “Human brain is made up of 95% water.”
They also interspersed the programme with drama on healthy lifestyles and cleanliness.
Source: GNA