The Ghana Water Company Limited admits there is a wide gap yet to fill in the provision of water for Ghanaians about which it says “there is more room for improvement.” Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Kweku Botwe who had been speaking to Joy FM’s Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, hinted that the company is aware of the great demand for water which has not been adequately supplied over the years. His comments come amid the plethora of concerns by consumers about the company’s poor service delivery in the distribution of water. But speaking to Oppong-Nkrumah, Mr Botwe maintained that while the causes are many, the situation is largely because “demand has outstripped supply.” He said increasing population growth without a commensurate investment in water treatment and distribution has resulted in the menace. The GWCL boss said under such a condition, the only way out would be to ration water. Accra has been hit hard by shortage of water, setting off a new city lifestyle where some consumers carry water on the heads, from far distances where there is supply, to their homes. The situation is even worse in rural areas where streams and rivers are the main sources of water for families. Mr Botwe said it’s about time stakeholders in the water sector paid critical attention to the problem because “over the years investment in water has lagged behind population growth.” He said there is no end in sight to resolving the problem as the ‘no-money’ syndrome seems to be trickling into the picture. “The challenge is for us to find other ways of raising capital to do the project and let’s move away from the yesterday cry of there was no money, I couldn’t do anything,” he said. Advocating that Ghanaians have “a business orientation to water,” Mr Botwe said the company would soon launch its Strategic Investment Plan by the end of the second quarter. He said the plan would highlight the need the business opportunities in the water sector. The GWCL manager charged consumers to file complaints with the appropriate quarters and should follow up on their issues till they are resolved. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com