CPP Against Govt. Plan To Privatize Water Supply

The Conventions People's Party on Friday expressed concern about government's intention to privatise water supply, saying the use of water, a natural resource, should not be conditioned on the accumulation of monetary profit.

"The CPP is also shocked at the disclosure that as many as 50 per cent of the workforce of the Ghana Water Company will be laid off as part of the exercise," the party said in a statement signed by its national chairman, Dr Abubakr Al-Hassan.

The statement said the intended privatisation can only lead to a situation in which financially handicapped communities and individuals would be denied access to potable water simply because of their inability to help inflate the profit margins of private corporate interests.

It quoted available statistics which, indicated that more than 40 per cent of Ghanaians still do not have access to potable water.

"This situation can only mean that there is a lot of work to be done by the workers of the Ghana Water Company to expand their services to deprived areas."

It has therefore advised the government to rescind its decision, in the hope of its avowed commitment to address the plight of disadvantaged Ghanaians.

It stressed that the position of the party stems from recent experiences of privatisation of state enterprises which, indicated that the transfer of public owned enterprises into private hands in themselves do not ensure efficiency.

It cited Tema Shipyard and Dry-dock and the Produce Buying Agency of the Ghana Cocoa Board as examples of state-owned companies that have suffered serious liquidity problems after their privatisation.

The Party said under a more responsible management team, the Ghana Water Company can improve its revenue collection capacity and operational efficiency.

The CPP said it is to protect the citizenry from the adverse impact of the privatisation of key social and economic service institutions that many developed countries strive to protect such organisations from making profit.