Jan 14

Jan 14 Water Shortage Hits Parts of Accra & GWCL Is Quiet.

Access to water in Accra is a struggle. A needless struggle the average Ghanaian goes through on a daily basis so much that it’s been normalized. There’s water scarcity in the city and nobody is giving Ghana Water any heat as compared to the online queries and constant complaints lodged against ECG.

I wasn’t even aware there was a water shortage until last week when I casually asked a shop assistant why she looks so tired behind her work desk. I assumed she had a second job after this one. She laughed and replied in the negative, “ No oh! It’s just that i have to wake up at dawn to look for water in the area.” I was surprised because it’s been a minute since i heard anyone say this. She lives in Akoto Lante , a suburb in Accra and for the past two months they have been experiencing water shortage. I decided to investigate further online and truly, most neighborhoods have been without water for days on end. Yet consumers have been receiving water bills without fail for water they haven’t seen or used.

And for the first time ever, my Mom came to shower in my house as their polytank at home had run dry. She lives in Nyaniba Estates a suburb not known for water shortages. She had stopped storing water in kufour gallons as water flow was more consistent after that dreadful water scarcity some years ago. But now it seems we are headed back in that direction once again.

Hair salons are turning away customers due to lack of water to wash hair. Washing bays are dry in Osu as the taps are off and so are their polytanks.

Why isn’t anyone protesting about this outrageous treatment of citizens? Are we simply used to storing water in kufuor gallons and barrels that we have just accepted our fate? Why aren’t we holding Ghana Water Company accountable? From Spintex, Osu, Teshie , Kaneshie to Kasoa people are purchasing water from private water tankers at exorbitant prices due to this scarcity and Ghanaians are just taking this abuse silently and waiting till December 7 to show our real “power” at the ballots. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Why won’t more Ghanaians japa to other countries for a better life? A life which taxes you but provides basic social amenities with such efficiency that it makes one wonder whether it’s worth coming back to Ghana at all. Taxes have increased even on electricity yet there’s dumso on a large scale almost every other day. Why aren’t these taxes being used to make our lives better?

Why should Ghanaians be cooking with pure water sachets because water has flowed through the tap in weeks? This was my cousin yesterday as she cooked Jollof for my Mom . In a Ghanaian home somewhere, a mother is bathing a newborn baby with pure water and yet we are quiet.

Our rivers and lakes have been poisoned by illegal miners and yet we haven’t seen any drastic actions by this government to ensure this horrific acts against nature is eliminated. The pollution of our rivers have made the treatment of water supply more expensive for Ghana Water and it begs the question again, what is this government doing about this? Our country is experiencing extreme heat levels and I completely blame this on the destruction of farmlands and forest reserves by illegal miners. Our urban spaces have lost trees due to lack of zero regulation of tree cutting in the city. It’s raining less and less in places like Osu, Labone and Labadi areas.

The same energy we use to bash ECG should be also targeted at GWCL. Oh wait! Or is it because dumsor led to a celebrity-led protest in the previous government and water wasn’t? Do we understand how water impacts our everyday life ? The lack of which leads to lives being lost ?

Why is Ghana Water Company quiet about the ongoing shortage? The GWCL app and related social media pages doesn’t have any information for consumers to explain the unbearable situation either. We deserve better as Ghanaians. Our silence communicates that all is well with us whilst we are suffering in silence!