It is said that politicians are best at their games, but this time round, they might be playing with a basic national asset, the rural water resources, at a time when Ghanaians least expect water shortages under the ‘rehearsed’ free water slogan. The intention by government to alleviate the water challenges of Ghanaians under the COVID-19 pandemic at the time when the conditions demanded so, has now been unfortunately diverted into a political campaign tool to the detriment of the water providers.
This Association lamented from the onset that its members were not consulted to explain the inherent challenges the free water directive would bring, particularly to the rural folks, but the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources denied the Association audience. The Ministry relied on CWSA, which unfortunately had no clue to the real issues in the provision of the rural water matrix.
We expected the Ministry to have planned its flagship programme in a manner that wouldn’t end up denying the citizenry a basic life-saving commodity like water.
THE FAILURE BY THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY FOR THE WATER SUPPLIED FREELY SINCE APRIL, despite the full payment propaganda, HAS CRIPPLED AND COLLAPSED RURAL AND COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY.
I t has created the impression as if government was not fully committed to the implementation of the directive. This Association is registering its disassociation with the collapse of the community water
systems, particularly as being caused by the government’s ‘unplanned’ free water directive that has worsened the situation, aside:
1. The lack of knowledge by government of the application of prepaid electricity meters by small towns’ water systems in Ghana for which reason it disregards resourcing the water systems;
2. The neglect by government to pay water bills of its institutions that had constituted the largest leakages in rural water incomes;
3. Failure by government to query the authority with which a constitutionally established agency, the CWSA, is taking over ownership and management of rural and community water systems in the country and staffing them with unskilled individuals;
4. The inability to pay for workers’ salaries and Vendors’ commissions over the months due to the non-payment of water bills by government; and
5. The inability to repair broken-down parts of the water infrastructure due to lack of funds.
This deliberate neglect and lack of concern constitute the factors ‘destroying the very
basis of the rural and community water facilities which will send Ghanaians back to the dark days of guinea worms and water-borne diseases’.
GOVERNMENT KNOWS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME NOW, SO IF IT DOES NOT PAY FOR THE NINE (9) MONTHS OF FREE WATER PROVIDED BY THE COMMUNITIES, a lot would be desired of this government.
Please do not destroy the sustainability of the rural and community-managed water facilities in the country, otherwise Ghanaians will forever remember the roles played by this government in creating water insecurity in the country compared to what their situations were before the intervention of the free water programme.
We have made our position clear, and much as government has decided not to listen to us, we want to assure the government, through the sector minister that, we are not enemies, we only want government to sit up and pay for what it ordered to be given freely.
We are urging the Press to drum home the fact that THE WATER SYSTEMS HAVE RUN OUT OF MONEY TO CONTINUE WITH THE FREE WATER PROGRAMME, AND THAT OUR MEMBERS HAVE RESOLVED TO STOP THE PROGRAMME FROM MONDAY 9TH NOVEMBER, 2020 IF THEY ARE NOT PAID BEFORE THAT DAY.
Thank you
(SGD)
FOR PRESIDENT (0244041533)
ISSAH M. AHMED (0208523488)
(SECRETARY)
