  caww
[
 community action world-wide
BE3/55 Main Market-Housing Road P.O. Box 308, Ho, Ghana
Telephone: 233-91-26945/25125 Website: www.caww.org
What We Are Doing Now
Advocacy to Stop Water and Electricity Charges that Discriminate Against the Poor
We are currently engaged in a fight for the right to equitable access to water and electricity of people living in compounds in Ghana, which is the majority of people in the country. To this end we have submitted a petition to the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice. We expect her to cause a hearing at which we shall appear with legal support. We also plan to, in the event of the Commissioner not being able to deal with the issue, to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Need for this Advocacy on Water and Electricity Charges
The majority of people in Ghana live in a compound of some sort, which might be rooms in compounds, or huts and buildings in the same compound. The existing regime of tariffs for water and electricity discriminates against persons who live in compounds, and this is in direct violation of the constitution viz-Article 17 sections 1 – 3, Article 35 section 3, and Article 37 section 1.
The use of electricity and water in dwellings is measured by the meter installed by the company providing the water or electricity. In flats, apartments, etc. which are normally inhabited by just one household, the consumption recorded by the meter is that of just one household. On the contrary in compounds, which are normally inhabited by many households, what is recorded by the meter is the combined consumption of the many different households which live there. The Electricity Company of Ghana and the Water Company of Ghana use the value recorded by the meter as a basis for the charges users have to pay, and bill users for blocs of units of electricity or water used. They have determined a basic bloc of units above which punitive rates are used to calculate the bills. This arrangement is with the approval of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
However, the two companies fail to take into account the fact that what is shown on the meter of a compound is really the aggregate consumption by the several households who live there. The value shown by the meters in compounds will naturally be higher than that for single households, and normally above the basic bloc and thus subject to the punitive tariffs.
For example a basic bloc of 300 units attracts a normal minimal rate. A single household in a flat or apartment uses 300 units of electricity or water, and this is what is recorded by the meter, making this household eligible to pay the minimal and affordable tariffs. Compare this to a compound of 10 households, each of which uses 300 units of electricity or water – a combined use of 3000 units – which is what the meter records. Clearly, the compound by virtue of the aggregate consumption recorded by the meter falls above the basic bloc, and thus attract punitive charges. Thus even though households in the compound and those in the flat, apartments, etc. all use equal amounts of electricity or water, those in the compound pay more.
This is discriminatory and violates the constitution, and is infringement of the rights of households who live in compounds.
Short term Objective:
We are calling for the dismantling of the existing utilities tariffs regime in Ghana which discriminates against the poor and vulnerable.
Long term Objective:
We shall continue to work in tandem with other civil society organisations and actors to promote a just and equitable society with policies that protect the poor and vulnerable.
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