News Commentary Of The Impact Of Increase In Prices Of Sachet Water On Consumers
BY CHARLES NEEQUAYE, A JOURNALIST
Water is an essential and precious commodity which human beings as well as animals cannot avoid in life. Without water, mankind will be dehydrated and starved to death. The brain, which is about 75% water, gets oxygen from water. When a person is hydrated, the brain stays clear, focused and functioning at a quick pace. The kidney which is responsible for detoxing the body needs water to remove toxins through urine. All the various organs in the body need water to make a person healthy. Besides all the important and useful purposes water provides to the body, we need this essential commodity for cooking and household chores, growing food and raising domestic animals. The country’s water bodies which serve as sources of water to the people, are highly polluted and contaminated with chemicals used by illegal small-scale miners, Fecal materials as a result of improper waste disposal and other unregulated human activities, making water from these sources dangerous for human consumption. Even though the Ghana Water Company Limited invests huge sums of money in the treatment of water and pumps it to our various homes, we still cannot guarantee the safety of the water through our pipes.
It is on this score that the introduction of sachet and bottled water which is a blessing in disguise has been duly welcomed and embraced by the majority of Ghanaians. Now, the sachet and bottled water business has become synonymous and serious vocation in the country with high patronage by consumers at affordable prices. The ordinary man on the street, relies on the product to refresh himself or herself. The recent price increases announced by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) has somehow taken consumers aback especially in this festive season when people are compelled to rely heavily on the products to manage the dry harmattan weather. The Association has directed its members that with effect from last Monday, December 27, 2021, the 500ml ice bottled water should be retailed at GHC1.50 whilst 750ml or medium size bottled water should be sold at GHC2.00. The 1.5L or large bottled water should attract GHC3.50 while ice sachet water be retailed at 40 pesewas. A bag of sachet water, 500ml by 30 pieces should now sell at GHC4.50 from the retail trucks. Mini shops are to sell a bag of sachet water at GHC6 per bag minimum.
According to the Association, the price reviews had been necessitated by the rising cost of inputs such as fuel, vehicle spare parts and packaging materials which are mainly imported. It explained that at its previous reviews, the Ghana Cedi to the dollar was at the region of GHC4.50 but currently it is inching up to GHC6.50. Fuel prices have also significantly gone up since its last review. It noted that regrettably, fuel price reviews attracted a lot of outcry anytime the government imposed the slightest tax on it. However, the public turns a blind eye to taxes on bottled water, which account for the high prices consumers have to bear. In the past, producers bore some or all of these huge taxes just to survive, especially in the wake of imported bottled water most of which evaded these taxes, but it is becoming increasingly unsustainable for the local water industry. The Association said it had become necessary that some of the indirect taxes, production and distribution costs be passed on to the consumer. It is important for consumers to know that any bottled water they purchase has a fixed levy of 23.5 per cent besides VAT/NHIL. The fixed levies are made up of 17.5 per cent excise tax plus an additional 6% Levy before VAT/NHIL. These unexpected increases in prices of sachet and bottled water is really going to affect consumers and for that matter Ghanaians in general since the products have been generally accepted by the people because they consider the pipe-borne water as unsafe for drinking. The impurities that are found in pipe-borne water which has duly been treated by the GWCL, give credence to the unsafe nature of water that runs through our pipes to our homes. People just use the pipe water for bathing and washing of clothes and rely on the sachet and bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Much as the association has every right to increase the prices of their products because of the high taxation which has affected their operations, we feel the timing is not really the best. It could have shifted the timing to January 2022, by which time the festive season will be over. We also believe that since water is an essential commodity which cannot be avoided by the people, the government needs to consider reducing the taxes that are generally imposed on the activities of these water producers so that they can break even and also subsidize their products for the affordability of the consuming public. Water has no alternative and therefore, we must preserve it while at the same time making it available to the people at lower cost.