Ghana will end the importation of water if the Ghana Accreditation Service Bill currently referred to the relevant Committees of Parliament is passed, Kobina Tahir Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament in response to a question from Dr Kwabena Donkor Member of Parliament (MP) for Pru East, Mr Hammond said the regulatory framework for conformity assessment bodies involved in testing, inspection and certification of water packaging would be further strengthened with this consideration.

Currently, he said, there were stringent regulatory procedures by the Food and Drugs Authority for the licensing of packaged water (bottle and sachet) manufacturing facilities and the registration of the finished packaged water.

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, who asked the question on behalf of Mr Donkor, inquired about the efforts the Ministry was making to develop the water bottling industry to international standards and thus end the importation of water into Ghana.

“Mr Speaker, the premises of these manufacturing facilities are regularly inspected using the Authorities Guidelines, FDA/FDI/GLFPF/2020/02. The inspection covers the starting material (water) and packaging materials to ensure that they meet their respective Standards; and the finished product meets the requirement of GS175-1:2002 (for drinking water and GS220:2014 (for mineral water),” he said.

Mr Hammond, also a New Patriotic Party (NPP), MP for Adansi-Asokwa told Parliament that the FDA also conducted market surveillance and analysis of products in circulation on the market to keep pace with the phenomenal growth of bottled water and sachet manufacturing.