CONIWAS Supports 20% Tax On Bottled and Sachet Water... Calls for total ban on thin plastics

CONIWAS Supports 20% Tax On Bottled and Sachet Water
Calls for total ban on thin plastics
EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE – ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALIST
Contrary to public outcry on the imposition of a 20% ad valorem tax approved by Parliament on sachet and bottled water in the country, the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in the Water and Sanitation sector (CONIWAS), has lauded the move and declared its support for its implementation.
The Coalition has however asked government to rather impose the tax on the water and not on the packaging used for it.
Making this stunning statement at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the Vice Chair of CONIWAS, Mrs. Hawa Nibi Amenga-Etego said “Government should focus the 20% ad valorem tax on the water rather than the packaging material as we are currently made to understand.”
Stating that packaging used for sachet water must not be singled out for ban as some are championing, the Coalition said “Our position on thin plastics or what is commonly referred to as one-off use plastics is a total ban and nothing short,” adding, “Short of a total ban on them, we welcome the 20% ad valorem tax as a step in the right direction.”
The Coalition’s Chair also maintained that the production and consumption of sachet water is not sustainable, as environmental pollution of thin plastics and the associated economic costs to the nation far outweigh the employment benefits it creates for those who engage in it.
“Abandoning tap water altogether simply as a result of marketing gimmicks and perceived poor quality, and resorting to packaged water as the main source of drinking water constitutes negative development in the wrong direction,” the group deduced.