The Managing Director (MD) of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has called for public support to stem illegal connections and related water theft in the country.

He said those unlawful practices affected operations and revenue generation and urged the public to report suspicious activities on water theft to the GWL, saying that illegal connections and customer misclassification reduced water availability and undermined service delivery. 

“We can’t do it alone, and we need the assistance of the public to fight illegal connections. If your neighbour is engaging in illegal connections and you keep quiet, it will deny you water,” Mr Mutawakilu said in an interview with the media after he inspected the progress of work on the construction of the Wenchi Water Project. 

Accompanied by some key officials of the GWL, the MD was at the project site to round off his day’s working visit to the Bono Region. 

He said the management of the GWL had introduced measures to ensure that water produced and sold was properly accounted for. 

Mr Mutawakilu said when he assumed office, the non-revenue water stood at 52.2 per cent, and that implied that the GWL recovered about GH¢48 out of every GH¢100 worth of water supplied. 

He said the figure reduced to 51.6 per cent as of December 2025, after some initial interventions, dropped to 45.5 per cent in January and 45.59 per cent in February 2026, with March expected to follow the trend. 

Mr Mutawakilu said the GWL intended to intensify efforts to tackle both physical and commercial losses, including replacing weak sections of transmission pipelines.  

He added that GWL’s central workshop was fabricating pipelines to replace portions of transmission lines from Kpong to Tema and from Kpong through Dodowa to the Okponglo reservoirs. 

Mr Mutawakilu said plans were advanced to train district managers and operational staff to strengthen monitoring and curb illegal connections, indicating that a training would soon be organised for district managers. 

He said it was unfortunate that some personnel of the GWL responsible for billing, pipeline monitoring, and new connections had failed to detect illegal connections, saying that the management would assign clear responsibilities and take action. 

Mr Mutawakilu advised personnel to report colleagues who engaged in illegal connection activities, saying that internal accountability was critical to improving efficiency and ensuring a reliable water supply. 

The MD also inspected the progress of work on the stalled rehabilitation and expansion of the Sunyani Water Supply Project at the Abesim Headworks of the GWL and also held discussions with staff of the regional office in Sunyani.