PURC & GWCL: What Exactly Is The Cause Of The Frequent Instances Of Burst Mains Water Pipelines In The Panbros/Mendskrom Area?

Not too long ago, MTN, the South African-based telecommunications giant, with an African footprint, was fined a record US$5.2 billion, by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

MTN was fined that huge amount  for failing to properly register the owners of a little over five million sim cards, by photographing them and taking their fingerprints. It subsequently appealed against the magnitude of the fine - which was then reduced to US$3.4 billion.

Nigeria, a nation currently under siege by terrorists, clearly understands the security implications of failing to properly register sim card owners - and is prepared to wield and use a big stick to ensure that telcos in the country obey the law.

The question is: Why do regulators in Ghana not adopt the same no-nonsense approach of Nigeria's regulatory bodies too?

Why allow players in the industries they regulate in Ghana to get away with so much errant behaviour? A case in point is the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).

Surely, the PURC recognises the public health implications of any prolonged unavailability of wholesome treated water in villages, towns and cities across Ghana that have water treatment plants?

If it does, why then does the PURC not insist that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), should ensure that all repairs carried out on sections of its distribution pipeline network involving the replacement of burst water pipes, is carried out within specified periods - and fine the GWCL on each occassion that it does not meet such deadlines?

That is the only way to change the negative attitudes of the teams sent out by the GWCL to replace burst pipes in its pipeline networks across the country.

That laidback attitude of GWCL repair teams detailed to replace burst pipes reflects badly on the company - which really is most unfortunate: as its board and  management are doing their best to carry out reforms to make it a more efficient company.

As things currently stand, because of the lack of urgency often  shown by the company's repair teams, consumers in areas where water pipelines burst, can go for lengthy periods without pipeborne water. That is intolerable in this day and age.

The question is: Why does the GWCL not inform the public when such disruptions occur along its  mains distribution pipeline network -  and tell them when the supply of treated water will resume again? The GWCL should follow the example of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), in that regard.

Above all, why should consumers be kept in the dark about timelines for the replacement of  burst pipes - when the GWCL is allowed to increase tariffs only on the understanding that it will enable it to render a better service to its customers going forward, after all such tariff increases?

This is the 21st century. Consumers of water in the areas on both sides of the Mallam-Kasoa highway between Weija junction and McCarthy Hill junction, request that the PURC demands that the GWCL immediately fixes whatever the problem is that has led to a cessation of the flow of treated water to their properties.

Enough is enough. In an era of high water tariffs, why add to the woes of hard-pressed families, which are responsible enough to pay their water bills  regularly - by putting them in a situation that forces them to buy unplanned-for-tankerloads of water: because burst water pipes take forever to be replaced by the GWCL?

If the frequent burst water pipeline problem in the area results from the building of two petrol filling stations opposite Panbros, then why did the Ga South District Assembly allow their owners to defy planning officials and go ahead to build those illegally-sited petrol filling stations?

Who owns those illegally-sited petrol filling stations? Why should the greedy ambitions of a powerful and well-connected few make the lives of thousands of families in the area so miserable?

When will such impunity end in Ghana? Have the authorities forgotten the tragic fire in which so many lives were lost, at the GOIL petrol filling station near where the Kwame Nkrumah circle used to be, so soon?

Is there no inter-agency collaboration in such matters - which would have led to the GWCL being informed of the threat posed to its  mains water pipelines by the unlawful siting of those two petrol filling stations opposite Panbros, by the Ga South District Assembly's planning officials?

And why are they allowing the same thing to occur near the illegally sited fence-wall of the Regent University College of Science and Technology's new main campus - where contruction work on encroached land apparently reserved for a future road also results in frequent damage to the GWCL's mains water pipelines?

Alas, that also ends up in the closure of the GWCL's mains distribution pipeline - which then results in properties in the area no longer being supplied with water.

The PURC must force the GWCL to act to protect its mains pipelines in all such instances, to prevent damage to those selfsame pipelines that leads to their closure.

That will ensure that water will  flow constantly without  interuption through its mains water pipelines that pass through the area -  and allow unimpeded  supply of water to properties in the area between Weija junction and McCarthyHill junction. The PURC and GWCL must act now. Residents in that area need water now. Not tomorrow. Period.