The importance of water to life is only comparable with oxygen, the air. Water is so essential that without it, life, whether of plants or animals, becomes inconceivable.
Sadly, in Ghana water will soon be out of reach for the average Ghanaian, because of the increment that we are about to witness.
Prices of iced sachet water and iced bottled water are expected to increase effective September 19, 2022.
Iced sachet water and iced bottled water are expected to start selling at 50 pesewas and GH¢3 respectively.
A release by the National executive committee of the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) on September 14, 2022, stated that there may be “slight variations across regions due to haulage to remote and distant areas.”
“At our previous review in March 2022, the dollar was in the region of GH¢8.5. Currently, it is inching up to GH¢10. Fuel prices have significantly gone up since our last review. It was GH¢9 and now it is GH¢14.5, which is a 61 % change since. March 23, 2022,” the Association noted.
In the opinion of this newspaper, the decision to increase this life saving fluid now is wrong on right timing and inconsistent with current economic reality.
Ghanaians are already harrowing pain in the face of the downturn in the economy. Water is life and as such a necessity.
We insist that the government should engage the Association to find a solution to help them mitigate their production cost. If possible government, as a first step must scrap some taxes or lower them to enable the producers of sachet and bottled water to maintain their current prices.
President Akufo-Addo in opposition promised to bring relief to Ghanaians, should he be voted for. The Ghanaian people have held their end of the bargain, it is now up to him to do so. The country he took over from his predecessor, is hanging on a precipice and urgent and concrete action is needed to salvage the situation.
In our opinion, President Akufo-Addo, owes it as a duty to the people to do more than what he is currently obtainable in terms of policies and funding towards providing relief for the citizens.
Until then, Ghanaians are very grateful to him, for a job well done.
