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Tension is building up between some residents of the Adentan SSNIT flats in Accra and officials of the Accra East Regional branch of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) over the supply of potable water to the residents.

While the residents are threatening to drag the GWCL to court for what they describe as irregular supply of water even after paying their bills regularly, the water company is demanding payment without delay.

The proposal of the GWCL to adjust their tariffs upwards to over 100 per cent has also hit the residents hard, many of whom have threatened to resist any upward adjustment.

Expressing concerns about their predicament in an interview, the leader of the group, Mr Owusu Ansah Kwarpong said the company had taken them for granted over the years, hence their decision to drag them to court and force them to be professional in their operations.

“They have been milking us over the years by collecting bills without supplying water to us as required. They charge each of us for a minimum of 25,000 litres as water consumed per month. That is why we have come together as a group to sue them,” he explained.

He said their request to the company to provide them with metres to enable them to measure the volume of water supplied each month to determine how much to pay had not been honoured.

“Because they are bent on cheating us, they have refused to provide us with meters and rather charge us flat rates each month.

Thus, whether they supplied water or not, residents had to pay.

“This is not only unprofessional, but also criminal on the part of the company,” Mr Kwarpong said.

“We have not had water for many weeks, but they are not only asking us to pay bills, but also demanding an upward adjustment of the tariff to the tune of over 100 per cent which is very agitating,” he noted.

Responding to the allegations, Salomey Akwavie Tom, the Adentan District Commercial Officer of GWCL said they were waiting for management’s approval before supplying meters to the residents.

She said many of them had not been honouring their bills, but anytime they were disconnected, they connived with some plumbers to reconnect their lines, causing a huge loss to the company.

She warned against such actions, saying, those who had genuine concerns should channel them to the right sources.