GWCL threatens to shut down its plants in areas impacted by galamsey

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) says it will not relent in shutting down its plants in areas impacted by illegal mining when the turbidity levels of raw water in those areas surpass a critical threshold.

The Managing Director of the utility company, Clifford Braimah, expressed these concerns about the substantial impact of illegal mining on their operations and made an appeal for collective efforts to combat this issue.

In a Public Accounts Committee hearing, he defended the company’s proposed 334% tariff increase, explaining that it aims to motivate Ghanaians to assume responsibility by deterring illegal mining activities within their communities.

“If I had my way, Ghanaians will go and chase away all the galamsayers out of their areas because once the turbidity goes up, we shut the plant. And if you have no alternative access to water, you will take the situation seriously because we stay with the people who pollute the water. And if we [GWCL] shut down, you will not even know where to go to get the water.”

“If you pollute the water and the cost of treatment goes up, why don’t you pay for it because you are making money in one breath polluting the water?”