When the contract expired in 2011, the government decided not to extend it, saying that the private operator had not lived up to expectations.
In March 2000, the government of Ghana awarded a 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract for one half of the country, including the capital Accra, to the US company Azurix, a subsidiary of Enron.
The contract failed before operations began due to accusations of corruption and public opposition which led to the formation of the Coalition against Water Privatization.
[1][2] In 2004, the World Bank's Board approved a credit of US$103 million for an "Urban Water Project", which was later turned into a grant.
[3] The main objectives of the program, which was supposed to end in 2010 and has been extended until December 2015, are to significantly increase access to water supply in urban areas with an emphasis on improving the service for the urban poor; and restoring the long-term financial stability, viability, and sustainability of the GWCL.
[4] Between June 2006 and June 2011 the private operator Aqua Vitens Rand Ltd. (AVRL), a joint venture of the public Dutch company Vitens and the public South African company Rand Water, supports GWCL under a five-year management contract to improve its performance and rehabilitate and extend the infrastructure.
However, he explained that the reason for the shortages were unforeseen power outages at two water treatment plants in Weija and Kpong.
According to the Minister, the overall situation would improve notably by the end of 2008 due to several new boreholes and a more stable power supply.
[7] In March 2008 the National Coalition Against Privatisation of Water (NCAP) called for the abrogation of the management contract for alleged "lack of performance", especially related to the lack of achievement of “Service Standards” for pressure and flow as determined in Schedule 4 of the contract.
In early 2011, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Bagbin, criticised Aqua Vitens Rand for failing to live up to expectations.
[6] Providing access to potable water at affordable prices to low income consumers: The number of connections increased from 364,000 to 438,000.
An accurate measurement of non-revenue water was not possible, because the installation of bulk water meters started only in 2008 and the separation of the network into district metered areas - a prerequisite to accurately locate leaks - was undertaken only during the period of the management contract.