Dr Clifford Braimah, Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) said, its management has started the implementation of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directives.

The GWCL in a statement copied to Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday said: "All customers of the GWCL on category 611 (domestic users) shall have their bills from April, May and June absorbed and paid by Government."

President Akufo-Addo on April 3, 2020, announced to Ghanaians, that Government will absorb the water bills of citizens from April, May, and June as part of measures to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

"All stand-pipes shall be used to serve citizens for free and the Government shall absorb the bill and pay commission/compensation to the vendors. Hence, vendors are expected to still control the services to the public, but for free. This is to ensure the prudent use of water."

It said Landlords and Landladies who sell water to tenants must allow tenants to use the water for free from April, May, and June. Landlords and Landladies who sell water to other members of the community must register with the district offices of the GWCL to be eligible for commission/compensation.

"All customers disconnected prior to the President’s announcement, are still liable and must pay their arrears to enable them to enjoy the free water. If a customer is not in a position to pay arrears in full, such customers can negotiate with the District Offices and or Regional Offices, so as to be reconnected. These cases will be treated on an individual bases."

The statement further states that Tanker Services have been arranged to serve deprived communities and that consumers in such communities must liaise with their Assembly members, who will request for the services of these tankers from the GWCL District Offices.

The numbers for all district offices of the GWCL will be published in the media, it added.

The statement expressed their appreciation to the public for their support in the trying times and assured that the company would work assiduously to enable citizens to have adequate supply especially for domestic use to help the citizenry observe the necessary protocols outlined by the President.

It added that to help the GWCL through this critical period, consumers are advised to strictly observe the water conservation measures, "Cease indiscriminate watering of lawns with treated water, Moderate the use of treated water for car washing through the use of buckets instead of hosing, shut all taps when not in use, Repair all leakages in your homes, like overflowing reservoirs and dripping taps, valves, etc."

"Other measures were to report all burst pipes and leakages to the nearest GWCL District Offices, Customer Service Centres, Fault Offices and Report all persons engaged in illegal connections, by-passes, and all malpractices against GWCL to the nearest Police station or to the District Offices".

The statement asked the public to also call or WhatsApp GWCL on the following numbers; 0555123393, 0555155524, 0207385088, 0207385089, 0207385090, and include google locations, pictures, and videos of the burst. The toll-free line for the customer call center is 0800 40 000 for Vodafone cell and landlines only 0302 218240 for all other networks.

Management according to the statement advised the public to desist from Antisocial and unacceptable behaviors like the misuse of water as we see on social media, illegal connections and bypasses and called on the public for their cooperation to Help GWCL serve them better.