Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has uncovered illegal water connections worth approximately GH¢5.5 million over a four-month period, following intensified enforcement operations in collaboration with the National Security.
The Managing Director of GWL, Adam Mutawakilu, revealed the findings during an interview and described the scale of the violations as alarming. Investigations showed that entire water treatment sachet plants were illegally connected to the system, while some commercial entities were fraudulently billed as domestic consumers.
Mutawakilu explained that some offenders even installed bypasses to evade metering, leading to significant revenue losses for the utility company. In response, GWL set up a Revenue Enhancement Taskforce in August, comprising three specialised teams working alongside security agencies.
Between August and December, GWL has recovered just over GH¢1.3 million from the identified illegal connections. The company’s legal department has initiated processes to prosecute offenders, warning that culprits will be taken to court to deter future violations.
To maintain and expand these efforts, GWL has engaged the National Security to increase the task force from three to 12 teams, aiming to accelerate detection across the country and further reduce non-revenue water losses.
“Thanks to the three taskforce teams, non-revenue water dropped from 52% in January to 49.4% by November, which is encouraging. With the expansion to 12 teams, we expect to achieve even better results,” Mutawakilu stated.
He added, “Within the three to four months, the estimated value of illegal connections was about GH¢5.5 million, and we have recovered over GH¢1.3 million. Our legal department is pursuing these cases in court.”
The expanded operations are expected to strengthen enforcement, protect revenue, and improve water service delivery across Ghana.
