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The Northern Regional Office of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has sent final demand notices to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the region to settle their water bills before the close of this month or risk disconnection and subsequent prosecution. According to the Northern Regional management of the company, the directive by the Ministry of Finance in its guidelines for the preparation of the 2014-2016 budget that all MMDAs should make sufficient budgetary allocations for the payment of their bills had not been complied with, leading to huge debts owed the GWCL. Arrears Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Tamale yesterday, the Northern Regional Public Relations Officer of the GWCL, Nicholas Nii Abbey, said from January to May this year, the MMDAs owed the company thousands of Ghana cedis and that so far efforts to recover the money had not been successful. He said in all, the total amount owed the company in the Tamale metropolis in particular was over GH�8 million as of the end of July this year. According to him, 32 people who had been involved in illegal connection of water and meter bypass to their homes were to be prosecuted later this month. Nii Abbey further indicated that in the interim, �we are preparing to hold stakeholder meetings with the various security services, including the military and the police, heads of second-cycle institutions and district chief executives to negotiate payment of their arrears for the period, January to July this year�. He added that as part of efforts to ensure early and accurate payment of bills, the GWCL would install meters at all those establishments and the MMDAs later this month.