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AMA impounds more sachet water trucks
Accra, Dec. 4, Ghanadot/GNA - Fourteen trucks loaded with
sachet and bottled water were on Tuesday impounded by the
Accra Metropolitan Assembly's Task Force for not registering
with the Accra Waste Management Project before transacting
business in the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra.
Some of the companies whose trucks were impounded were Space
Filtered Water, Eagle Filtered Water, Ahenfie Filtered
Water, Flaco Nsu Pa, and OK Mineral Water.
Mr Ebo Botwe, Chairman of the Accra Plastic Waste Management
Committee, said there had been a tremendous improvement in
the registration of sachet water trucks since the operation
to impound them started on Monday.
"I am impressed with the rush for the stickers by the sachet
water producers since the commencement of this operation,"
he said.
Mr. Botwe said it was the hope of the committee to get at
least 80 per cent of sachet and bottled water companies
which transacted business in the CBD zone to register by the
end of the week.
He appealed to other companies, which had not registered to
do so since the operation would not be halted until it had
achieved its aims.
The trucks are charged according to the volume of water they
carried and the fees ranged between one and million cedis.
Mr Botwe said the project could only be sustained if all the
about 500 trucks which visited the CBD to supply water to
their customers registered and paid for their supplies.
He said all these were efforts by the stakeholders in the
plastic industry to help the AMA in its decision to rid the
city of plastic waste and called on all producers of sachet
and bottled water to help to make the project successful.
"It is no talk show. It is a critical national assignment
and we are prepared to let it work and so I will urge the
producers to let it work," he said.
Accra Plastic Management Project (APWAP) of the Accra
Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) said on last Tuesday that bagged
purified water, popularly known as pure water, would now be
sold in the Central Business District of Accra at 500 cedis
or GH 5 pesewas per sachet with effect from Saturday
December 1, 2007.
Mr Botwe said trucks transporting bags of the water in the
Central Business District would also be required to carry
special stickers on their respective vehicles before they
would be permitted to transact business.
He explained that before one could be issued with permits,
that company would be required to provide a business
registration certificate, certificate to commence business,
AMA/TMA Business Operating Permit, Ghana Standard Board/
Food and Drugs Board Certificate, full business address and
contact details.
"As a major source of finance to sustain the project,
special Trade permit stickers will be required by any truck
that would trade in the project zone. Stickers will be
issued per truck per month and shall expire at the end of
every month, irrespective of the date that it was issued.”
He said the requirements were to ensure that consumers were
protected from consuming unwholesome products and curb the
incidence of fake bagged water which was becoming a health
hazard.
All water, cocoa drink, ice cream, alcoholic beverage
producers whose products were contained in plastic or
bottles would be required to register with project
secretariat and apply for a trading permit, he said.
GNA
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