Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has appealed to customers to pay their water bills promptly, warning that poor revenue mobilisation and the increasing rate of illegal connections are affecting efforts to improve water supply across the country.

Communications Manager of GWL, Stanley Martey, said the company’s ability to repair ageing infrastructure and invest in water distribution systems has been significantly affected because many consumers either fail to pay their bills or access water through illegal connections.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr Martey explained that Ghana Water operates a postpaid billing system, where customers are billed after consuming water.

“The revenue is not coming. A lot of people are not paying their bills, so Ghana Water is in a difficult place. The bill is postpaid, so you pay the bill after consuming the water,” he said.

He said despite the financial difficulties, the company continues to channel the revenue it receives into maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure.

Mr Martey disclosed that Ghana Water has procured materials from outside the country to support major pipeline repair works aimed at improving water delivery.

“We have procured a lot of materials from outside to work on our pipelines. We always invest whatever we receive back into the system,” he said.

Responding to concerns about the management of the company’s resources, Mr Martey insisted that Ghana Water does not spend money on luxury, adding that the company’s vehicles and equipment require upgrades.

“If you see Ghana Water staff, we don’t live lavishly. Nobody drives new cars. All of our cars are old, and there are no new fleets,” he said.

He therefore urged customers to pay their bills to enable the company to reinvest in infrastructure and provide a more reliable water supply.

“So we need people to pay their bills so we can reinvest the money,” he added.

The Communications Manager also raised concerns over illegal water connections, describing the practice as unfair to customers who pay their bills regularly.

“The little bills that are coming in too; a lot of people are using illegal connections. The few people cannot pay when the larger number enjoy it for free,” he said.

Mr. Martey further linked the country’s illegal mining (galamsey) activities to rising water treatment costs, explaining that pollution of water bodies has significantly increased the amount of chemicals needed to make raw water safe for consumption.

“If we can stop galamsey, there will be no tariff increment, and we will even be paying less. But water treatment is taking a chunk of our money because it is expensive. We need to buy a lot of chemicals due to the high turbidity level of the water.”

He appealed to the public to support Ghana Water by paying their bills, reporting illegal connections, and protecting the country’s water bodies, saying these measures are essential to ensuring a sustainable and reliable water supply for all.