The Communications Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Stanley Martey, has refuted claims that the company has disconnected water to schools within its Tema region.

The allegations suggested that several Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Eastern Region and Accra, falling under the GWCL's Tema region, including Ada SHS and Chemu SHS, had been disconnected by the GWCL.

In an interview with the media on Monday, Mr. Martey clarified that the company had not disconnected any schools thus far.

Instead, they had taken steps to demand payment for the outstanding amounts owed to them by the schools.

Mr. Martey emphasized that the GWCL does not typically disconnect schools as they are considered essential service providers.

However, if any SHS demonstrates a lack of cooperation in settling their bills, the company may resort to disconnection as a last resort.

He further explained that there were instances where the GWCL received communication from the secretariat handling the Free SHS program, instructing them to approach certain schools for payment, possibly indicating that the funds had been released to those schools.

In such cases, they would go to demand the outstanding amounts owed.

In summary, Mr. Martey clarified that the GWCL had not disconnected any schools in the region but had been actively pursuing the collection of outstanding dues from them.

The company's policy is not to disconnect schools, but they may take such action if the schools persistently neglect their payment responsibilities.

“Per our standard operating procedures, we do not disconnect schools. Schools are classified as essential service providers, so we do not disconnect them. We only disconnect them when they have been recalcitrant in the payment of their bills or when they have deliberately refused to settle their bills.”

“Sometimes, we receive a communication from the secretariat that handles the Free SHS program, stating that we should go and disconnect some of the schools. This is perhaps because they have released some of the funds to them, so we go there to demand the money,” he stated.