The Sanitation Ministry has announced that the provision of free water to the public as part of COVID-19 interventions will end on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Currently, only lifeline customers are enjoying water supply without paying bills as directed by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
“Effective July 1, 2021, all consumers/customers of the Ghana Water Company Limited, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, NGOs, and partners in the water sector, will pay for the water they consume,” the Ministry said in the statement.
As part of efforts to ease the financial burden on Ghanaians and also help them through the COVID-19 last year, President Akufo-Addo announced that the government will absorb water bills for all Ghanaians.
The intervention started on 1st April 2020 to 31st June 2020 and was extended on two separate occasions in the year 2020; from 1st July to 30th September 2020, and from 1st October to 31st December 2020.
But in January 2021, the policy was maintained only for those who consume less than three cubic meters of water per month, tagged as lifeline consumers.
It lasted from 15th January to 31st March 2021, and was further extended from 1st April to 30th June 2021.https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJ9cS1Pjwds
But barring any last-minute intervention, the Ministry says it will begin billing lifeline customers from July 2021.
The Ministry further urged the public to “conserve treated water as well as protect and preserve our water bodies.”