The Weight of Water: How GHS 1.8 Billion Lost to Corruption in 2024 Is Drying Up Hope in Ghana’s Poorest Communities
By Alex Ababio Investigative Journalist,(This story was produced with support from African Liberators Economic Institute)
May 5, 2025
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Kotokoli, Oti Region –
The first light hasn’t yet touched the rusted rooftops of Kotokoli when 13-year-old Zainab lugs her yellow gallon out the door. Her bare feet trace a familiar path—past open sewers, through patches of thorny brush—to a murky stream where women and girls queue for water that will leave them sick. By the time she returns, her school uniform is damp with sweat, and the sun is high. She’s late again.
“The teachers beat me when I’m late,” Zainab whispers, rubbing the scars on her palms from rope burns. “But if I don’t fetch water, my mother can’t cook. We can’t bathe.”
Her story is not unique. Across Ghana, corruption and embezzlement documented in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report have siphoned funds meant for water infrastructure, schools, and slum upgrades—leaving millions trapped in cycles of poverty and preventable disease . While officials tout a 41.6% drop in financial irregularities, procurement lapses and unaccounted funds still bleed dry the systems meant to protect children like Zainab .
This investigation traces how stolen money translates into stolen futures—through the eyes of a girl, her community, and the data that exposes the rot.
The Corruption Pipeline: How Embezzlement Dries Up Water Projects
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has long blamed water shortages on illegal mining (galamsey) clogging rivers with silt . But the *2024 Auditor-General’s Report reveals a quieter crisis: GH₵14 million owed by the government for unpaid COVID-19 water relief, and GH₵368,000 in unpaid bills by state agencies—funds that could have repaired broken pipes or built new boreholes .
The 2024 Auditor-General’s Report reveals staggering financial losses due to corruption and mismanagement in Ghana’s public sector. While the report notes a 41.6% reduction in irregularities compared to 2022, GH¢8.8 billion (approximately US$730 million ) was still lost through procurement lapses, unpaid debts, and contract mismanagement . A deeper dive into the findings exposes systemic embezzlement, including GH¢10.2 billion lost over five years (2019–2023) across ministries and agencies, with GH¢327 million misappropriated by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) alone . Despite the Auditor-General’s surcharge powers, enforcement remains weak, allowing culprits to evade accountability.
Key institutions implicated include:
1. Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG): The report uncovered *US$145 million* in irregular meter procurements (2016–2021), where contracts were awarded without competitive tendering, violating the Public Procurement Act. ECG’s lax oversight also led to *GH¢54 million* in losses from meter bypassing and theft, with only 39.3% recovered .
2. Ministries and Agencies: GH¢6.2 billion* vanished through unresolved contract irregularities, including abandoned projects like school buildings and water infrastructure, exacerbating crises in communities like Zainab’s . These failures highlight how corruption directly undermines basic services, leaving millions without clean water, education, or healthcare.
In Sekondi-Takoradi, where Zainab’s cousin lives, GWCL admitted that illegal mining upstream crippled water treatment plants. Yet, auditors found *dredging funds mismanaged , with contractors paid for unfinished work .
“When budgets vanish, communities wait years for solutions,” says Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe , Programmes Officer at Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC). “The poor pay with their health.”
A Classroom Under the Tree: Education Sacrificed for Survival
In Kumasi’s slums, where kayayei (head porters) sleep in makeshift shacks, girls like Zainab’s older sister, Ama, trade school for work. A 2025 study in GeoJournal found 70% of migrant girls in Kumasi drop out by 14, citing water-fetching duties and illness from contaminated sources .
At Zainab’s school, three classes share one crumbling building; the rest learn under mango trees. Headteacher Mr. Kwame Asare sighs:
“When it rains, we dismiss early. When it’s dry, children faint from heat. The district promised a new block in 2022. Where is it?”
The Auditor-General’s Report flags GH₵6.2 billion in unresolved contract irregularities—including abandoned school projects .
The Human Cost: A Girl’s Body as Collateral
Zainab’s mother, Mariama, knows the toll. Her daughter’s rashes—from bathing in polluted water—landed her in a clinic with no medicines. “The nurse said, ‘Boil the water,’” Mariama says. “But firewood costs money we don’t have.”
In Ghana’s rural north, only 11% have safe drinking water. *Mercury and lead from galamsey poison 35% of water sources, yet 13% of urban slums have working taps .
Dr. Fatima Abubakar, a public health expert, links this to stunting in 17.5% of under-5 children: “Chronic diarrhea from dirty water steals nutrients. Corruption steals their cure.”
Who Answers for the Broken Promises?
The Auditor-General urges stricter surcharges for malfeasance , but NGOs like Cross Catholic Outreach* fill gaps, drilling boreholes in villages like Rogbom Kakalay, Sierra Leone—proving change is possible .
Yet in Aboabo, Zainab’s gallon remains heavy.
“Why is water still a privilege?” asks Bright Kwadwo Sowu, GACC’s Deputy Executive Secretary. “When a child’s day begins with a walk for survival, whose accountability is that?”
The Bottom Line
Zainab’s journey mirrors Ghana’s paradox: a nation rich in resources, rationed by graft. The 2024 audit exposes the paper trail. The yellow gallon exposes the human one.
Sources Cited:
– Auditor-General’s 2024 Report
– Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) disclosures
– Kumasi slum conditions
– Cross Catholic Outreach data
– UNDP Kenya’s water mapping case study (contextual parallel)
This story was produced with support from African Liberators Economic Institute, anti-corruption advocates and grassroots testimonies. To support water justice initiatives, visit
(www.africalei.com)