GWCL will take legal action against defaulting customers

By Emmanuel Gamson

Takoradi, November 5, GNA – Nana Yaw Barima Barnie, Acting Chief Western Regional Manager of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), says the company is compiling a list of defaulting customers in the region for prosecution for debt and non-compliance -payment of water bills.

He said their records show that customers in the Western Region owe about GHC23 million to GWCL as of October this year and the company is taking steps to take defaulters to court.

In an interview, he said: “We are compiling a list of all customers who have been disconnected but have failed to pay their bills. We send them to court because we need the money to carry out our activities.”

Nana Barnie encouraged defaulting customers to settle their arrears to avoid being taken to court, saying: “We are very willing to use all legal means to recover any arrears that people owe us owed”.

He stated that GWCL was no longer a subsidized organization and they were dependent on bills for their daily operations, but non-payment was a challenge to their work.

“We implore our customers to pay their water bills to help us carry out our daily operations, otherwise there will come a time when GWCL will find it difficult to purchase chemicals to treat water, fuel and other operational items due to failure to -payment of water bills,” he added.

Nana Barnie asked customers to use GWCL’s electronic payment platforms to pay their bills at their own convenience.

“To make it easier for customers to pay their bills, we have introduced the electronic payment method so that they no longer have to walk to a payment point, a bank or GWCL office.

He said customers can use and pay for GWCL mobile application or other platforms to help them serve them better.

GNA