The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Friday, August 1, 2025, held a stakeholder meeting with Ghana Water Limited (GWL) and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA). The purpose of the meeting was to deliberate on key challenges affecting rural water supply systems, non-payment of bills to GWL by CWSA, and the tariff mechanism for bulk water transfer between GWL and CWSA.

This meeting was convened following concerns raised by GWL to PURC in the recent tour to the Upper East and Upper West regions by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Shafic Suleman. Discussions focused on the supply challenges, how to strengthen water service delivery to underserved communities in both regions, while ensuring sustainability and affordability in the water sector.

It was noted that although GWL has the technical capacity to support water supply in these areas, affordability and sustainability remain significant barriers. CWSA representatives acknowledged that high bulk water tariffs make it difficult to break even, especially in pro-poor communities where residents often turn to alternative sources such as boreholes as a result of costs.

The root cause of non-payment of bills by CWSA to GWL was traced to CWSA’s inability to recover costs due to high operational expenses and existing tariff structures. A proposed payment plan was discussed to address current bills and gradually clear the arrears.

Additionally, a policy paper from the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources (MWHWR) was discussed. The policy paper proposed a new tariff mechanism for bulk water transfers between GWL and CWSA. Stakeholders agreed that to make the arrangement viable, production-cost-based tariffs or targeted subsidies should be considered, especially for low-income communities.

Dr. Suleman proposed that a committee should be formed to engage with the Ministry, to pave way for possible special tariffs or a production-cost-based pricing model to relieve the financial burden on CWSA and to ensure continuous service delivery.

The discussions concluded with an agreement to conduct detailed asset valuations for the town of Bongo in the Upper East region and other affected communities, and to engage the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources to provide direction on sustainable tariff models, strengthen institutional collaboration and data sharing, and to revisit operational frameworks for communities that may transition from CWSA to GWL support.