In unwittingly spreading typhoid is the Ghana Water Company Limited literally and metaphorically getting away with murder?

Dear critical-reader, the question to ponder over is: In unwittingly spreading typhoid and other waterborne diseases,

is the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) literally and metaphorically getting away with murder? Why so, many might wonder?

It appears, to concerned observers, that these days the GWCL only concerns itself with meter reading, sending out bills to consumers and disconnecting consumers who don't pay their accumulated water bills. Customer satisfaction clearly isn't a priority obviously - judging by the rise in waterborne diseases such as typhoid, which can be traced directly to contamination from burst GWCL water distribution pipelines. Yet, the fact of the matter is that they owe all their customers a fiduciary duty of care. Incredible.

Even as we speak, dear critical-reader, it so happens that typhoid has become endemic in virtually all the communities in Gomoa Budumburam and its environs. Fact checkers can verify that from the healthcare professionals at the Gomoa Budumburam St. Gregory Catholic Hospital, who perforce it falls to, to shoulder the Sisyphean burden of curing those whom diseases with such as Typhoid fever, Cholera, Giardia, Dysentery, dangerous variants of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Hepatitis A and Salmonella.

Salmonella afflict in Gomoa Budumburam and its environs, alas.

In spite of that, dear critical-reader, will be well nigh imposssible to get staff members of the GWCL (operating from their main branch offices in that particular part of Ghana's beautiful and bountiful Central Region), to admit to that, even though they are all aware that the rupturing that does occur in sections of the GWCL's exposed distribution pipeline network, and that those raptured pipelines can be the source of the contaminants that can cause waterborbe infections,

Sadly, they appear to be blithely unaware per the edicts and regulations of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), they actually owe all their customers across the entire territorial landmass of our bankrupted Republic, a fiduciary duty of care, to replace raptured pipelines, and carry out regular rolling inspections to make that operationally possible at all material times, oooo, Ghanafuor. Hmmm, 3y3asem oooo...

Speaking personally, for example, that particular egregious GWCL corporate failing, has actually led to one endeding up becoming quite unpopular with some of one's neighbours, in our part of the SHC Estate at Gomoa Budumburam - simply because one disaproves of irresponsible individuals behind the recurrent deliberate rapturing of exposed distribution pipelines of the GWCL, in our area: who it appears want access to treated potable water but are unwilling to pay for that privilege. Scandalous.

To be fair, there is no question, dear critical-reader, that the exposure of the GWCL's distribution pipeline network in our part of the Gomoa Budumburam SHC Estate, results directly from erosion of sections of our dreadful gated community road network - parts of which are in fact deep gulleys in which dirty bacteria laden water collect, and remain as irritating puddles, for days on end, whenever it rains heavily, unfortunately.

That too, dear critical-reader, is yet another example of the failure of employees of a public sector commercial undertaking, the SHC Estates, to discharge their fiduciary corporate good governance duty of care to their customers, who either own or rent properties in their large portfolio of housing estates across Ghana. Monstrous.

Clearly, dear critical-reader, all our public sector commercial undertakings, need to be partially privatised to make them more efficient. Full stop.

In that regard, the successful privatisation model used to privatise the well run and profit-generating partially state-owned oil marketing company, Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), should be replicated for all such privatisations - with 10 percent of the shares reserved for management and workers: to make them commit to making their public-sector employers evolve into, and remain, profitable commercial undertakings, going forward into the future. Case closed.

That is what will make the GWCL thrive as a commercial entity that has made customer satisfaction inform the entirety of its operations.

Until then, it needs to be pointed out, and made plain, to the sodden GWCL's entire workforce that they owe their customers a fiduciary duty of care, to replace all ruptured water distribution pipelines laid in public spaces outside the boundaries of GWCL metered properties and structures nationwide - and that they ought to be aware that they might eventually end up being sued for literally and metaphorically causing and getting away with murder: in unwittingly spreading typhoid and other waterborne diseases across the enterprise Ghana. Full stop. A word to the wise...