ISSUED IN ACCRA APRIL 8, 2020.

Further to the Presidential directive on provision of free water to the Ghanaian population during
the COVID-19 Emergency Response period, April to June 2020, the Management of the
Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) led by the Chief Executive, Ing. Worlanyo
Kwadjo Siabi has issued instructions to guide the Agency’s Regional Directors and Water System
Management Staff on the implementation of the directive in the CWSA managed pipe water
systems in small towns.

Speaking from the CWSA Head Office in Accra, the Chief Executive underscored the importance
of the practice of proper handwashing with soap as a major protocol in the prevention of the spread
of Covid-19. Accordingly, he reiterated the need for CWSA to ensure that there is continuous flow
of water to facilitate good hygiene and handwashing in communities. He entreated all staff of
CWSA to work diligently to ensure that the directive of the President is fully carried out and issued
the following guidelines.

Category of customers to be provided with free water – Regional Directors and Water System
Management Staff are to provide free water for the next three months to domestic and public
institutional consumers such as the police and health institutions. These categories of consumers
are exempted from paying water bills during the three months period as directed by the President.
Segmentation of Water Consumers – Industrial and commercial users of water including those
within household and institutional installations are not covered by the free water provision and
should therefore be billed appropriately to pay for water consumed for such commercial purposes.

Water System Management Staff must therefore validate their customer segmentation data to
distinguish commercial and industrial users from domestic customers to avoid classifying them as
domestic consumers.

Provision of Water at Prepaid Standpipes – Where prepaid tokens are used, CWSA staff will
load up to forty (40) litres per person per day. The Staff are also to ensure that individuals holding
the tokens would make known the total number of persons per household. These household
numbers provided should be verified by the staff for accuracy and data compilation.

Meter Reading and Billing – April to June 2020 – Water system staff will continue with their
normal daily duties of reading of the meters, calculating and distributing bills to customers. CWSA
will indicate on the bills that Government has absorbed the bills for the period (April to June 2020)
and explain to customers they are not to pay the bills within the three months period. The staff, he
noted, are to carry out all expected duties in satisfying and retaining the confidence of the
consumers.

Instructions to Vendors and Behaviour at Public Standpipes – To ensure that the Covid-19
prevention protocols are duly adhered to by community members at the public standpipes, the
Chief Executive directed that water vendors should observe the following:
• Vendors should continue to use normal opening hours for the provision of free water.
• In every community, a standpipe should be designated to sell water solely to industrial and
commercial users.
• Water Vendors should serve one consumer at a time and ensure the observance of the social
distancing protocols in force to avoid crowding at all times.
• Where consumers fail to observe the social distancing protocols and mass up at the stand
pipe, the vendor must temporarily close the tap until order is restored to save lives.
• Drums and barrels exceeding the size of the usual containers (buckets, basins and the
‘Yellow gallon’) are prohibited at the public stand pipes. The Chief Executive explained
that the filling of such big receptacles by one person during the normal fetching hours has
the potential of stirring controversy, creating agitation over the time used by that one person
in filling his or her receptacles, as others wait in the queue.

The Chief Executive, Ing. Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi said that the Community Water and Sanitation
Agency would like to assure Ghanaians of continuous flow of water throughout the designated
period. In addition, the Agency is currently distributing handwashing facilities with soap and
alcohol based hand sanitizers to its offices, community clinics and CHPS Compounds in all CWSA
managed water system communities nationwide to facilitate proper handwashing with soap as a
measure to curb the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

End.

About the CWSA

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is the public service institution under the
Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, responsible for providing safe water, water related
sanitation and hygiene promotion services to rural communities and small towns in Ghana.
ING. WORLANYO KWADJO SIABICHIEF EXECUTIVE

Contact Person
Pauline Tambro
Chief Public Relations Manager
Tel. 0244369956
Email. estellapauline@yahoo.co.uk