Accra, Feb. 17, GNA - The Ghana Coalition of non-governmental organisations in Water and Sanitation sector (CONIWAS), on Wednesday expressed support for the 20 per cent ad valorem tax on bottled and sachet water.

The coalition, however, asked government to focus on tax on packaged water rather than tax on packaging materials used in processing water for sale by private entities, to subsidize the provision of quality tap water. It explained that when the tax was focused on packaged water as an expensive commodity; it would discourage the poor from patronizing them and opt for tap water, which many countries were now advocating. Mrs. Hawa Nibi Amenga-Etego, Vice-Chairperson, CONIWAS, addressing a press conference in Accra, suggested that proceeds from the tax should be used in improving water supply to make water more accessible to the people to guarantee their right to water.

She noted that the infiltration of bottled and sachet water on the Ghanaian market had become the biggest threat to the realization of the right to water as it had successfully diverted people's attention from more affordable sources to more expensive and unsustainable bottled and sachet water which cost 1,600 times and 500 times respectively, higher than tap water.

Mrs. Amenga-Etego said the State had a duty to protect the rights of its citizens in accessing water by preventing third parties including private companies from interfering with enjoyment of their rights including the imposition of appropriate regulatory measures such as taxes on such parties.

She noted "that despite the brisk patronage of bottled and sachet water, majority of Ghanaians still relied on tap water and other sources which were more affordable so the citizenry should "demand sufficient water of acceptable quality through the taps as the only way to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights to water."

CONIWAS advised people to embrace the use of tap water in their homes by purifying it through boiling and using "acquatabs", and non toxic water purifier to treat their water, alongside other means. The Coalition also recommended that the proposed water fund in the National Water Policy be implemented to tackle water, sanitation and hygiene in an integrated manner.

It also requested that the sale of treated water to ships plying Ghana's ports be reverted from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to Ghana Water Company Limited as a core business to serve as a source of revenue for the purchase of chemicals to treat water for consumption.