President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced an extension of the free water supply to homes and also the electricity tariff cuts.
The relief package which was announced by the government as part of efforts to deal with the impact of the coronavirus came to an end on December 31 2020.
However, President Akufo-Addo said due to the persistent hardships in the country owing to the virus, he has extended the relief programme.
In an address to the nation on Sunday January 3, the president said “You will recall that, in our quest to help shield you from the effects of the virus, Government took the decision to provide relief to Ghanaians, which included the absorption of electricity and water bills.
“This relief package ended in December. However, with the continuing difficulties occasioned by the pandemic, I want to state that Government intends to continue to support the most vulnerable in our society.
“Government will, thus, continue to pay the electricity bills for our nation’s one million active lifeline customers for the next three months, i.e. January, February and March. Additionally, all one million, five hundred thousand customers of the Ghana Water Company, whose consumption is not more than five cubic metres a month, will not pay any bills for the next three months, i.e. for the months of January, February and March. This relief package will be reviewed at the end of March.
“Fellow Ghanaians, it has been over nine (9) months since we all made adjustments to many aspects of our lives and daily routines. It has not been an easy task, I know. However, we have done so to protect our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and the lives of our heroic health workers who continue to care for those affected by the virus and the sick in general.
“With Ghana set to procure her first consignment of the COVID vaccines within the first half of this year, there is light at the end of the tunnel. But, we are not yet out of the woods. So, let us all continue down the path of strict adherence to the protocols. There is nothing beyond us, the Ghanaian people, who were the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain our freedom from colonial rule. We can do it.
“It has been my responsibility to come to your homes with these updates on twenty-one occasions, and, certainly, it has been an honour and an absolute privilege to have served you as your President these past four years. I look forward to delivering on the mandate you have entrusted to me and my Government for the next four years, and, together, we shall defeat COVID, and steer this beloved country of ours back onto the path of progress and prosperity.”
