Ghana Water Company Limited (GWL) has inaugurated 10 Revenue Enhancement Teams as part of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen revenue mobilisation, reduce indebtedness, and eliminate illegal water connections nationwide.

The inauguration was announced at a press conference addressed by the Company's Managing Director, Adam Mutawakilu.

The MD described the initiative as a decisive turning point in Ghana Water’s operational and financial transformation.

As part of the initiative, the Company has procured several pickup vehicles to support the Revenue Enhancement Teams' operations and improve their mobility across regions.

The vehicles are expected to enable rapid response, field inspections, meter audits, and customer engagement, allowing teams to carry out their mandate efficiently and reach communities and commercial areas more effectively.

Mr Mutawakilu said the Revenue Enhancement Teams were established to protect the Company’s income base and ensure the sustainability of water supply, noting that without sound revenue, reliable service delivery would not be possible.

The Managing Director explained that the teams would undertake targeted inspections, meter verification, billing audits and customer engagement, working closely with the Company’s commercial, technical and legal units.

According to him, the decision to scale up the initiative followed the success of three earlier pilot teams, whose operations uncovered extensive commercial losses and illegal connections across several regions.

He said Management had therefore approved the expansion to 10 fully operational teams to ensure nationwide coverage and sustained monitoring.

Mr Mutawakilu emphasised that the teams were not set up to harass customers but to correct anomalies, protect public resources and restore fairness in the system.

“Our objective is compliance, not confrontation,” he said, adding that customers found in breach would be guided to regularise their connections and settle outstanding obligations.

Between August 2024 and December 2025, GWL uncovered 217 illegal water connections; 239 illegal connections have been detected to date through ongoing enforcement activities.

The illegal connections resulted in the Company charging a total of GH¢8.6 million in penalties and outstanding bills, including about GH¢3 million traced to two large commercial customers.

Of the amount charged, Mr Mutawakilu noted that GH¢2.1 million had so far been recovered, describing the figures as both revealing and instructive about the scale of commercial losses facing the Company.

He said illegal connections, meter bypassing, and other forms of water theft deprived the Company of revenue needed to fund treatment chemicals, electricity, infrastructure maintenance, and network expansion.

The Managing Director noted that revenue mobilisation remained central to the Company’s mandate, as water treatment and distribution required significant capital investment, rising energy costs, and ongoing maintenance.

He said funds generated through improved collection would support the purchase of treatment chemicals, payment of electricity bills, replacement of ageing pipelines and expansion of services to fast-growing communities.

Mr Mutawakilu also linked the initiative to broader reforms within the Company, including the digitalisation of billing and payment systems to improve compliance and make it more convenient for customers.

He said customers can now access bills via SMS and email, pay via mobile money and bank platforms, and monitor their accounts through the Company’s digital platforms.

The Managing Director said enforcement would be complemented by customer education, with teams engaging households and businesses on proper water use, billing procedures and the consequences of illegal connections.

He stressed that illegal water use undermined national development, depriving the Company of resources needed to meet growing demand driven by rapid urbanisation and population growth.

Mr Mutawakilu appealed to institutions, businesses and households with outstanding arrears to honour their obligations, noting that unpaid bills weakened the Company’s cash flow and affected service quality.

He assured the public that accountability and transparency would guide the Revenue Enhancement Teams' operations, with clear reporting lines and oversight mechanisms.

The inauguration, he said, marked the beginning of a new phase in the Company’s efforts to build a financially resilient, customer-focused and efficient water utility.

He called for public support and cooperation, stressing that Ghana Water belonged to all Ghanaians and that its sustainability was a shared responsibility.

The Managing Director expressed confidence that, with disciplined operations and responsible customer behaviour, the initiative would deliver lasting benefits to water service delivery across the country.