By Prince Ahenkorah
The government has rushed to block a proposed hike in sachet water prices, but the move has done little to stop some retailers from already selling at ₵1 a bag double the usual rate.
The intervention, announced on Monday (6 April) by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, offers consumers only fleeting relief.
Behind the scenes, producers had been pushing for a sharp increase. The National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) cited a global polymer shortage, worsened by geopolitical tensions involving Iran, and wanted factory prices at GH¢8 and retail up to GH¢15.
The Ministry, after talks with the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association (GPMA) and NASPAWAP, declared that the price “will not increase today”. The weasel word “today” speaks volumes.
On the ground, the market has already moved. Over the weekend, shops around Achimota were charging ₵1 per sachet a fact the Ministry’s statement conspicuously ignored.
Kofi Addo, the Ministry’s Chief Commercial Officer, told JoyNews that the priority is market stabilisation and that local sourcing of polymers is being explored to cut reliance on volatile imports. But local production of raw materials is years away, if ever.
A more immediate headache: the government now plans to summon the Bank of Ghana over traders refusing 10 and 20 pesewa coins, a parallel crisis that makes small change and small purchases a daily battle.
A meeting with producers is set for Wednesday (8 April) to find a “lasting solution”. But with retailers already jumping the gun and supply chains still snarled, Accra’s price freeze looks less like policy and more like damage control.
The Ministry insists it is committed to keeping water affordable while keeping producers afloat. For ordinary Ghanaians queuing for a bag of water, that balancing act has already failed.