RDA should recoup wasted water funds – Skelton
Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton has suggested that the government can find ways to recoup millions of dollars spent annually on water distribution that is not collected from its customer base.
The government expends more than $20 million yearly to purchase water through the Water & Sewerage Department (WSD) for the distribution of water to residents, but only recoups about $4 million of that amount for its usage.
Much of the water is wasted because of leaky pipes and this is also compounded by the absence of water meters across the territory.
“We’re paying for water we can’t get. The people who want to pay can’t pay because they don’t know what to pay,” Skelton said in the House of Assembly recently.
Skelton, who recently served as chairman of the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA), said if the government projects that it wants to reduce the gap of more than $10 million between revenue and expenditure at the WSD, then it needs to present a plan to the RDA and they will get it accomplished.
“Just imagine wasting $10 million for 20 years,” Skelton said. “That’s where we’re at.”
He said once the RDA accomplishes that goal, then the government can then apply for a loan using that collected revenue which can be paid off easily.
“You’re not going to have any fight with us over here [in the Opposition] to correct something like that,” Skelton said. “We need to get it corrected because that money is needed for education, for healthcare, for infrastructure, for the things that matters to this country.”
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Ronnie is a hypocrite as far as I am concerned. Ronnie was dead set against the RDA. He claimed it took away ministerial power. He accepted the chairmanship of the same RDA after he had those views just for social status. Now he wants to take away the same ministerial power and give it to the RDA.
I want to see the back of the Skeltons, Clines and Turnbull from politics. They have been nothing but trouble with their selfish and self centered, entitlement behaviors.
So turd world.
Ronnie don’t mind them. They don’t want the system to get better. They love it the way it is.
Your post is an indication of your education level or perhaps your limited level of thinking. Obviously youre a hater, and you need to shut up and actually observe more. No wonder this country will get no where in a hurry with simpletons like yourself.
They paid for things not delivered. Take a seat.
Ronnie well knows that is not how it works. A contract was signed to accept x amount of water from the plant by the Liberator.
The plant has a break even point and a point at which profit start. the contractor cannot be penalised by Government’s inability to hold up its end and distribute the water that is produced.
Collecting water rates and fixing the distribution system is not RDA’s job. If our dysfunctional government would get their act together RDA can tender and manage the contracts.
Politicians lack the proper guidance when they hire managers for their water utility who are neither qualified nor experienced. A perfect case of the blind leading the blind.
In our case, I believe it was a desperate attempt to solve one problem but created another. When its people are constantly crying for water, it’s not easy for a politician.
We don’t seem to have learned anything because the Department still has managers without experience or qualifications.
Our first failure is that we hire in a culturally or racially insensitive manner. Everybody and their uncle knew that woman wasn’t qualified yet we kept her there for over ten years. As a result, millions are being lost and misery is being caused
5 years gone and it still aint fixed
Shut up Ghana!
All the engineering managers were removed and they are now trying to release another so they were or are not qualified too? Nonsense. The name was changed from chief Engineer to Director research and come back to say why. Do your research to find out what’s really going on in there. Are there any annual reports coming out of the department that can be read? This would be a good starting place.