More than 2,000 workers of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) will soon be retrenched as a way of saving the company from further financial difficulties.

The number of workers to be affected represents about 50 per cent of the company's work force of 4,593 and the company's current debt stands at about ?130bn.

Cobbie Kessie Jnr, Deputy Managing Director, Finance and Administration, who announced this on Wednesday, said the number of workers currently on the company's pay roll was virtually redundant and it would make economic sense to retrench them as soon as possible to avoid incurring more debt.

He was speaking when Alhaji Mustapha Ali, Minister of Works and Housing made a familiarization tour to interact with the workers of the company on Wednesday. Kessie Jnr said: "We are virtually throwing money away because we are catering for over 2000 employees who are doing absolutely nothing, besides we are paying a daily tax of ?55m which keeps on swelling the debt."

He said the company would require about 18 million dollars as severance payments to carry out the retrenchment exercise.

Kessie Jnr said another way the company could improve on the bad financial situation was for it to introduce the use of the prepaid metering system, which proved very successful on a pilot basis in Tema.

Samuel Gerald Odartey Lamptey, Managing Director of GWCL said on the average the company spent over ?25bn a month to defray debts and other expenses. He said the company owed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) close to ?110bn and ?12.2bn was being paid a month to defray the debt.

Lamptey said a loan repayment of 1.2 million pounds to the Social Security Bank and the Barclays Bank had through negotiations been converted into a ?17.2bn with a monthly instalment payment of ?1.0bn and the final amortization, would end in March 2005.

He said the loan was used to construct 13 glass fibre reinforced plastic water reservoirs in the Accra-Tema Metropolis.

Alhaji Mustapha Ali said it was about time the company re-positioned itself properly because its role was gradually being hyped away.

He asked the company to use a collaborative effort to settle its debt, and requested for information and suggestions on the debt situation for action. Alhaji Ali said government had come closer to taking a decision on the Private Sector Participation (PSP) in respect with the company and urged the company workers to exercise restraint.

He said the government wanted to broaden the debate on the matter by getting all groups such as civil society organizations and pressure groups involved to arrive at a consensus. Alhaji Ali asked the company to reconsider the use of treated water for washing vehicles adding that the company should provide alternative source of water for them.

Later the Minister, his Deputy Dr Brinpong Yaboah, the GWCL Managing Director and officials of the Ministry and the water company inspected some facilities at the Kpone Dam in the Dangbe West District.