Importation of bottled drinking water _ what value are we

Water is life. However, the continued importation of bottled drinking water to this country is not helping the life of our cedi. It may be a small drop but in terms of pressure on the cedi, imported bottled water, still or carbonated, could make a mighty ocean to drown the cedi. It simply is not a priority and will never be.
For the second time within a short space, I have been awe-struck by some restaurants within the city of Accra who serve only imported bottled water with no alternative. Ask for any of the top made-in Ghana bottled water and they will tell you they do not stock any of them. The fact also is that the bottled water is small in volume and sell expensive too.

Too many laxities

We seem to be supervising too many laxities that are not helping our situation. We all complain about difficulties in our economy. Our Cedi has been under pressure for too long. Everyone is suffering with rampant price increases in the cost of goods and services, no matter how basic and no matter which place one finds one’s self on the social ladder.
The Electricity Company of Ghana would make excuses for tariff increases because they depend on imported parts to upgrade their system and so every consumer of electricity suffers the consequences of tariff increases. Fuel prices are adjusted upwards because of the fall of the cedi against the US dollar and so we are told. These are few of the indispensable items that affect everyone in the society. But what excuse can one give for imported bottled water, whether from far away exclusive Alps or mountains?

When it comes to defending the poor performance of the cedi, we have heard over and over again from the experts as well as our political leaders that our over-reliance on imports is not helping the cedi. So if an import dependant economy is not the best thing, why do we still allow things which are not critical to our survival into the country?
We watch on for some restaurant operators to set their own rules with no respect to the customer’s preference. But sometimes one does not totally blame them. They operate in a system where those paid to think and act for us are simply refusing to pay attention to details and so give room for others to exploit the system.

Job creation

Allowing people to bring in imported drinking water means creating jobs for other countries for as long as we continue to allow these not too critical products into our system. Why do we cry about unemployment when stopping the importation of bottled drinking water would have meant increase in the demand of locally produced water?
The increase in the demand for locally manufactured bottled water means expansion of production facilities by local manufacturers. The result is the creation of space to hire more hands giving jobs to local suppliers and many in the value chain and so therefore, more employment avenues created.

Made-in Ghana produce

As one sees it, the refusal by some local restaurants to serve locally bottled drinking water is a rejection of made-in Ghana products. This is one area that the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), need to conduct their own investigations and put pressure where their voices would be heard.

Trade liberalisation

Yes, we are in a regime of trade liberalisation but that is exactly the harm the World Trade Organisation and its assigns are creating for developing countries such as ours, who have blindly signed on to their conventions. Developed economies can afford to import all kinds of bottled water for their consumers. We do so at a heavy cost to our economy, however, minimal.
The Ministry of Tourism need to begin to look into this and check on those hotels and restaurants that are perpetrating this anti-made-in Ghana bottled water practice and get them to explain.

If we cannot name and shame and call for a boycott of those restaurants giving customers this ‘stand-offish’ attitude, the agencies that can help stop the importation of simple bottled water should begin to flex muscles a bit. After all, is it not a widely practised position that difficult situations call for drastic measures?
Imported bottled water in restaurants with no local alternative is simply over and above normal practice. They should not be encouraged to go on with such practices.

vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com