Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has faced financial challenges for years, linked to several factors, including weak revenue collection and high operating costs.

The latest issue highlighted by the company’s Managing Director, Adam Mutawakilu, is a gap in meter registration and billing records.

Speaking before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 13, the MD revealed that a recent revenue improvement exercise, particularly the replacement and auditing of commercial meters, had uncovered that 62 out of every 100 commercial meters inspected by the company were not captured in its database.

The exercise is also aimed at reducing the company’s dependence on government funding for its operations.

He raised concerns about how such a huge gap was taking a toll on the company’s already challenging financial situation.

“We are doing replacement of meters as we speak, and it is good to know that so far, what we are covering is quite worrying, because for every hundred commercial meters that we are on estimates, we discover 62 that are not in our database,” he said.

He said improving revenue collection was a key priority, noting that the company was currently raising less than half of the revenue it should be generating.

“The first one is revenue. I believe that what we are raising now is less than 50% of what we should have raised, and we are working round the clock to improve our revenue to be able to financially sustain us,” he said.

Mr Mutawakilu said the company was hopeful of becoming financially self-sustaining by 2027, allowing it to fund its projects from internally generated revenue without relying on government support.

However, he said government intervention would still be needed to address the company’s legacy loans and strengthen its balance sheet.

He explained that converting legacy loans that had largely been repaid into equity would improve GWL’s financial position and help reduce the burden of foreign exchange losses linked to loan repayments.

He added that the company’s weak equity position was limiting its ability to attract significant investment, stressing that government support would be necessary alongside measures to improve revenue collection.

Meanwhile, despite the country’s water supply company’s prolonged financial challenges, it was recently ordered by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal to pay US$235 million to Befesa Desalination Developments Ghana Limited, the operator of the Teshie desalination plant, following a dispute over the termination of a water purchase agreement.

In October 2025, GWL shut down the plant without reaching an agreement with the Spanish-owned company over unresolved contractual issues and concerns about maintenance.

After the dispute was referred to the ICC for arbitration, proceedings lasted about a year. Cox announced on Monday, September 21, that the tribunal had issued its final decisions on September 17.

Cox said the amount, net of taxes, related to payments arising from the termination of the agreement under which Ghana Water purchased treated seawater from the plant. Interest on the award will run from April 1, 2026, despite the decision being delivered in September.

GWL also raised counterclaims, including a US$144.5 million claim. However, the ICC rejected the claims and ordered the utility company to cover part of the company’s legal costs.

Impact of the plant shutdown

According to reports, more than 500,000 residents in Teshie, Nungua, Spintex, Sakumono and La continue to face rationed water supply, with many relying heavily on water tankers, boreholes and sachet water.

In February 2026, President John Mahama directed the Finance Minister, the Attorney-General and Ghana Water to negotiate with the plant’s shareholders to resolve the dispute and facilitate the resumption of operations.

GWL Managing Director Adam Mutawakilu subsequently said the utility was working towards a settlement that would allow the plant to resume supplying water to affected communities.

Cause of dispute

The financial dispute is linked to the cost of water supplied by the plant. Ghana Water had reportedly been purchasing desalinated water at GH¢6.75 per cubic metre, while the approved tariff allowed it to sell the water at GH¢1.47 per cubic metre, resulting in a loss of GH¢5.28 on every cubic metre sold.

The US$126 million plant was commissioned in 2015 under a 25-year build-own-operate-transfer arrangement. It was designed to produce 60,000 cubic metres of water daily to serve up to 500,000 people in the Teshie-Nungua catchment.

Cox acquired the assets of the former Spanish engineering company Abengoa in 2023 and later became the majority owner of the Ghanaian project company.

The latest award adds to Ghana’s exposure to international arbitration claims and puts further financial pressure on the state as it works to resolve disputes involving major infrastructure and investment projects.