Officials of PURC interacting with customers at the premises of GWCL in Sunyani
THE PUBLIC Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) has set up complaints desk at the premises of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Bono Region to receive complaints from consumers.
Dubbed “Bridging the Gap”, the Bono Regional office of the commission took the opportunity to collaborate with GWCL staff to receive complaints from water consumers for two days at the premises of the Ghana Water Company in Sunyani and address them promptly.
Explaining the need to receive complaints on the premises of the utility company, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the regional office of the commission, Julia Antwi, said that over the period data received through the complaints management process/procedure of the commission showed that most consumers preferred to complain directly to the commission instead of first sending their complaints to the service providers.
“Sometimes when we probe further we realise it is due to poor first-time customer service experience coupled with speculation and misinformation out there in the public domain,” she pointed out.
According to the PRO, the complaints received include overbilling, inability to interpret bills, water not flowing constantly, leakages, faulty meters, lack of knowledge on service charges irrespective of whether one uses water or not among others.
Ms. Antwi explained that the Bono Regional Manager of the PURC, Patrick Antwi, is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that GWCL consumers in the Bono Region receive fair treatment as part of the mandate of the commission.
On their part, the GWCL praised the collaboration with PURC, saying it helped consumers to understand clearly the rights and obligations of both parties (consumers & utility service providers).
PRO of GWCL, Nii Abbey Nicholas stated that the company also took advantage of the initiative to educate consumers on its electronic payment platform by using short code *1010# to pay water bill from the comfort of their homes.
He said the company was unable to meet current demand of 6 million gallons per day, but are only able to provide 1.5 million gallons a day with a deficit of 4.5m.
“We, however, have interventions like drilling mechanised boreholes to augment supply to unserved areas,” he disclosed.
He bemoaned recent development where unscrupulous people steal water meters, safety valves, tapeheads and stop cocks.
“We get about five reports within a month. It used not to be so. We suspect scrap dealers,” he said and pleaded with the public to report suspicious characters tempering with water facilities to the police.
FROM Daniel Y. Dayee Sunyani