The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has directed the new board of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), to implement reforms to help transform the company into a world-class utility service provider.
Towards achieving that goal, she has urged the board members to take prudent steps to make judicious use of resources and manage the debt levels of the company.
Additionally, she asked the board members to strictly adhere to the new Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) to facilitate the achievements of the government’s agenda of achieving universal access to water.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the 11-member GWCL board in Accra last Monday.
Board composition
The board, which is chaired by the Member of Parliament (MP), for Okaikwei Central, Mr. Patrick Yaw Boamah, also has the MPs for Sene West, Mr. Kwame Ampofo Twum, Manhyia North, Mr. Akwasi Konadu, and the Managing Director of the GWCL, Dr. Clifford Abdallah Braimah, as members.
Other members of the board are the Chief Directors at the MSWR, Mr. Noah Tumfo; Finance, Mr. Michael Ayesu; an operating officer of the Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Ewuntomah Zakariah and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Design Resources Estate, Prof. Forster Kum-Ankama Sarpong.
The rest are the Country Director of Tripple-S Project, Mrs. Vida Affum Duti, and workers’ representative, Mr. Hadisu Alhassan and Mr. Joseph Kwaku Acolatse.
Water access
Mrs. Dapaah said the government was committed to provide water to all parts of the country and that required the GWCL to gird its loins.
She also urged the board to work closely with the ministry and other stakeholders to achieve that goal.
Commitment
Responding to the minister’s directive, Mr. Boamah assured the minister that the board would lead the process to transform the GWCL into a profitable and efficient utility provider.
He said with a staff strength of over 4000 and 90 plants across the country, it was worrying that the GWCL was still dependent on the government.
“I want to say that we should be able to lead the company on the path of transformation to be on its own. The GWCL has the capacity to be on its own and we will do so,” he said.
He added that the board would help the GWCL to have an effective communication regime with the public, especially during challenging times.
source: Graphic Online
