Water, sanitation NGOs Calls For Private Water Distribution Regulation

The Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), wants the Food and Drugs Authority and other regulatory bodies to step in and regulate the booming private water distribution business in Ghana.

Vice Chairman for CONIWAS, AttahArhin, said all he and his organization wants is safe affordable water for Ghanaians.

In parts of the country where people don’t have access to treated water, residents buy water from truck drivers who distribute from poly tanks usually from unknown sources.

A Ghana Demographic Health Survey says about 30% of urban dwellers depend on this source of water, but it seems the private distributors are not regulated.

“Well, these tankers are providing services. They are helping to meet a need, but we should not also just leave them to do what they want, there must be regulation. So as I said, the Coalition of NGOs in water and sanitation would want to take this up and engage these stakeholders to be sure that the water they supply is of good quality and that the pricing is also affordable,”he said.

He noted that these precautions are to ensure that Ghanaians do not drink contaminated water, so that government will not be forced to use money for expansion of water coverage to handle those emergencies.

“Who is even checking that the pricing is correct, how much are they selling to the consumers, and even these tanker service providers are they also paying taxes….because if you are doing business and making profit, you should be paying taxes, but I am sure because they are not regulated, nobody cares,” he said.