Absorbing water bills good idea but could create chaos – Ahi

Mr Sampson Ahi, the Member of Parliament for Bodi and a former Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, has lauded the plan by the government to absorb water bills for the next three months due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

But he says the decision must be clarified and implemented well because it could create confusion among some residents and those who manage small water systems and well water.

He explained that owners of well water will continue to sell the water because that is what they rely on to fend for themselves since they are not catered for by any government programme.

“If they have to provide free water, how will they survive?” he asked on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra 100.5FM Thursday, April 9.

“No matter how laudable this idea is, if we don’t provide more clarity, it could create fundamental challenges for us,” he added

President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his national address on Sunday, April 5, 2020, announced that the government will take care of the water bills for all Ghanaians for April, May and June 2020 following an increase in the country’s coronavirus cases amidst a partial lockdown of the epicentres of the disease.

Mr Stanley Martey, Communication Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, said on the same show that: “A lot of things are going to come out from now. The government has given us the technocrats and their plans and, so, whatever we will do to ensure that it materialises, we will do it.

“All those challenges will be addressed. We are competent enough to implement the policy of the government,” he said.