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Aqua Vitens
asks for extension of contract
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Jan 25, Ghanadot - Aqua Vitens rand Limited, the
Operator of Ghana’s urban water system, is recommending an
extension of its management contract to enable it to
complete the tasks set for it in 2006.
“We should be here longer, “AVRL says, advising against a
progression to a lease contract which, it says the Ghanaian
utility is not ready for at this stage of its development.
The consortium has been managing the utility on behalf of
Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) for upwards of three
and-a-half years. Rand Water Service Pty is a partner with
Vitens International B.V of Holland in the consortium, a
partnership created for the purpose of bidding for the
contract in 2004.
Its recommendation against managing Ghana’s urban water
system under a lease contract is based on the fact that “the
tariff regime (in Ghana) is not sufficient to attract a
lease.”
Under the grand agreement signed with the World Bank, the
government of Ghana may, if it finds significant improvement
in the water supply system after the five years, decide to
opt for a lease under which the lessor (the investor) brings
in capital and operates the system for a period of time to
recoup its investments. The management contract option was
supported by the World Bank principally on the grounds that
it would help improve the utility to enable it to attract
private investors.
In categorical language, however, Rand Water, itself a
public utility, says “we will not be interest in
participating in a lease ourselves,” regarding its
participation in Ghana’s water sector as “a corporate social
responsibility project of our shareholders. We are not in
Ghana motivated by profit.”
It made it clear, though, that “our role is to support
whatever the government, through GWCL, chooses. But we will
be ready to help attract bids or candidates for GWCL, it
that (a lease) is the pat that they (the government and
people of Ghana) wish to pursue.”
To the charge that it has under-performed, the Operator
says, “The (public’s) expectations of the short-term impact
of the management contract and the participation of AVRL in
the water sector were not realistic,” to begin with.
To a comment by the Times that people still complain of
water shortages and poor service three years into the
Management Contract, its reply is that “the management
contract was not meant to resolve all the water supply
problems within five years. It was meant to address some of
the fundamental concerns contributing to poor service,
particularly that of insufficient investment.
Our role, then, is that of providing technical support and
helping to restore the financial viability of GWCL so that
GWCL can attract resources to invest in infrastructure.”
As to what have been the major successes of AVRL, the
Operator cites its success at introducing modern and
efficiency in the use of chemicals and electricity.
“We have also improved billings and revenue collection, and
provided remarkable man-days of training for all categories
of staff” the operator said, adding that, “we have brought a
higher level of attention to the water sector on the part of
political decision-makers, which is critical for addressing
the service through a long-term, sustainable approach.”
Ghanadot sought to know the company’s greatest challenges.
Hear the Operator: “Our biggest challenge has been the big
backlog in maintenance and investment in the system.
Insufficient town planning in the past is the bane.”
It also cites misunderstanding in the relationship between
AVRL and GWCL as a key challenge stressing that “the public
is never quite certain who is responsible a public relations
problem”, assuring that both sides had been working hard to
overcome the challenge.
The management contract comes to an end in 2011. Would the
GWCL staff who were seconded to the operator to imbibe
modern ideas in operations and management be ready to take
over?
Its response to this is that “we believe when our contract
expires in mid-2011, we will leave behind a highly
enthusiastic staff who are open and willing to learn
continuously, who will strive for higher performance and are
deserving and capable of managing the operations.”
An Answer to this question also elicited a disclosure about
a process put in place by the Operator to indigenize the top
management of AVRL. Currently, the operator revealed, “there
are five expatriates, two of whom will leave by the second
quarter of 2010. They will be replaced by Ghanaian staff. In
addition, a Ghanaian Chief Operating Officer is soon to be
appointed at AVRL”.
What is the future of AVRL in the Ghana water systems? To
this question by the times, the AVRL says “we are
establishing a system tat takes the best from South Africa,
Holland and, even more importantly, Ghana.”
Meanwhile, the World Bank says it is satisfied with the
performance of AVRL. Speaking to the Times on phone from its
Accra offices, Mrs Ventura Bengochea, the Bank’s lead Water
and Sanitation Specialist, said AVRL had obviously operated
against some odds.
Ghanadot
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