The Ghana Water Justice Network (GWJN) has warned that privatisation of water could make water more expensive for consumers.
The Network says water is a necessity used in every household, and private operators driven by profit could push up the cost and place an avoidable burden on Ghanaians.
The concern was raised in a press statement issued on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, on the Teshie-Nungua Desalination Project, which the Network described as a warning of the dangers of high-risk water-sector Public-Private Partnerships.
According to the Network, an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal on September 17, 2026, awarded approximately US$235 million in termination-related payments to Befesa Desalination Development Ghana Limited and Standard Bank of South Africa Limited following termination of the Water Purchase Agreement with Ghana Water.
A related arbitration under the State Guarantee principally held the Republic liable for Ghana Water’s obligations.
The tribunal dismissed a separate claim of approximately US$402 million for alleged unpaid charges because the contractual claims could not be recovered cumulatively.
The Network said the Ministry of Finance’s 2024 PPP Report shows the plant supplied approximately 15.74 million cubic metres against a contracted annual capacity of 21.9 million cubic metres, while government support to Ghana Water for the project reached approximately US$57.38 million between 2020 and 2024, with about US$9.77 million outstanding at the end of 2024. Approved tax exemptions totalled US$72.83 million, of which US$31.55 million had been utilised.
It said the project demonstrates how arrangements that expose the state and consumers to substantial financial risks without corresponding public value can become costly.
“This project demonstrates the danger of arrangements that expose the State and water consumers to substantial financial risks without corresponding public value,” the Network said.
The Network warned that the consequences of flawed contracts must not be passed on to households through higher water tariffs, insisting that water is a public good and a human right.
It is therefore demanding a suspension of further water privatization initiatives pending an independent policy review, disclosure of the Water Purchase Agreement and related documents, and a guarantee that the arbitration-related liability will not be recovered through tariff increases imposed specifically on consumers.
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