A group calling itself the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) is kicking against recent increases in the prices of packaged water. In a press statement issued on Monday the group describing itself as “a political organization formed to promote the fulfillment of the promises made to Ghanaians at Independence, said the increases are unacceptable. Below is the full press statement The Movement for Social Justice, which is a political organization formed to promote the fulfillment of the promise made to Ghanaians at independence that we can manage our own affairs to the benefit of all our people. The Movement offers an alternative way and solutions to looking at issues, events and the aspirations of people of Ghana. The welfare of the people and their need to overcome the challenges of where we are as a nation in sub-Sahara Africa is our guiding principle. We, the members of MSJ believe that water is one of the most essential commodities for the survival of all lives. It is abundant in nature and occupies about 70% of the earth’s crust. However, safe drinking water is very scarce in Ghana today. It is general knowledge that humans can live without food for a relatively longer time (weeks) than without water. The life span for an individual without a drop of water is 2 to 3 days. Of Ghana’s 25 million people, almost 18 million people earn an income of less than GH¢ 2.00 a day. Interestingly, poor people spend a large proportion of their income, time and energy searching for water to buy every day. The demand for safe drinking water in Ghana cannot be overemphasized, considering the inability of the government to provide adequate pipe borne water to the populace. The level of water production and prices is thus an important factor in determining the progress that can be made in reducing poverty in Ghana. Keeping the price of Sachet water low and affordable to the ordinary man and woman is crucial to poverty reduction. Given this, the current price increment by the Association of Sachet Water Producers (ASWP) in the prices of sachet water, popularly known as ‘pure water’, from the current GH¢ 0.90 per bag – containing 30 sachets – to GH¢ 1.20 is a major cause for concern. We are in a country where Guinea worm, diarrhea, and cholera are supposedly endemic and to fight these diseases we need to encourage more people to be taking potable water especially sachet water to be able to reduce the menace. It is a possibility that majority of the citizens in Ghana would become vulnerable to diarrhea, Guinea worm and cholera since it would be difficult for them to buy sachet water at a price of GH¢ 10p. This is unacceptable The increase in the price of sachet water has no basis in rising cost of production materials and increases in electricity tariffs. It is purely an increase with the intention of generating a larger profit margin for sachet water producers at the expense of the ordinary man and woman. If we have been made to know that interest rates and inflation have come down, why the increment in the price of sachet water? We, the Movement for Social Justice, are concerned with the increment in the price of sachet water. Stating that the unjustified increment in sachet water prices is unacceptable and that government cannot remain a silent spectator to a situation that impacts on other sectors of the economy. Perhaps most importantly, we are in the depths of an economic recession, or even a depression. Many businesses, including airlines, restaurants, home builders, and stores, are lowering their prices in order to retain customers. It's insane from a business standpoint to raise prices by such a large amount in the middle of an economic crisis, and not expect to lose customers and revenue. We certainly want the industry to grow to be a healthy industry, but limitless profiteering is just not acceptable. The studies we conducted show that increment in input prices are not commensurate with the extent of the sachet water price increase. We are asking the ruling NDC government to tell us what they are proposing to do about the recent price hikes in pure water production. We hope that government would do the right thing to alleviate the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.