Cabinet endorses policy to regulate packaged water

Kampala. Manufacturers involved in processing and packaging water will now be doing so under the radar of government.
This is according to a policy passed by Cabinet to regulate the industry activities, Daily Monitor has learnt.
According to Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), the Cabinet move has been long overdue.
When contacted last week, PSFU executive director Gideon Badagawa said: “I am not surprised that the policy has not been there for that long.”
He added: “Government has been quick to liberalise but slow in regulation. And this is something that is across board.”
The Cabinet move to regulate the manufacture and processing of packaged water is in a bid to safeguard public safety against potential risk that the unregulated consumption of the much-consumed product poses.
“Cabinet has approved a new policy to streamline the packaged water sector,” a statement issued on Tuesday evening by the ministry of Trade, stated.
Packaged water industry has a huge potential for growth considering the country’s vast fresh water reservoirs and the growing market both domestically and internationally.
According to ministry data, the registered industry manufacturers provide employment to approximately 15,000 people both directly and indirectly and at the same time contribute about Shs150b in revenue to the government coffers annually.

Industry monitoring
Presenting the policy before Cabinet recently, State minister for Trade and Industry Michael Werikhe said the policy is designed to promote sustainable production while at the same time provide close monitoring and surveillance of the industry.
If properly addressed, the government believes that policy will go a long way in addressing challenges facing the sector, among them counterfeiting of packaged water.
“Under the new policy, all packaged water manufacturers must be registered and should use multi-barrier technology approach starting from source, processing and distribution of finished products to ensure the safety and security of consumers,” Mr Werikhe said.
Other challenges in the sector include the evasion of taxes by some manufacturers creating ground for unfair competition, weak enforcement of regulations, and the low level of public awareness of the requirements of good quality packaged water.
Minister Werikhe says with a policy in place, the ministry and the sector stakeholders will invest in the development of skills in key segments of the packaged water value chain such as abstraction, manufacture, quality management and waste management to protect the environment.
The ministry will also promote and strengthen the industry association – Uganda Bottled Water Manufacturers Association to complement Government through participating in co-regulation of the sector.
The policy puts emphasis on promoting trade in packaged water.
To achieve this, government shall implement measures that will enhance competitiveness and affordability of packaged water in sectors such as energy, transport, finance and the general business environment.
Government and the relevant stakeholders will also promote packaged water as a convenient and safe drink to increase consumption locally and regionally and also create public awareness and mechanisms for proper disposal of used plastic packaging of water.

Players involved
Presently there are about 78 registered packaged water manufacturers whose products are certified by Uganda National Bureau of Standards.
This represents only about 50 per cent of the total manufacturers of packaged water and the rest operate as small scale producers.
These small scale producers pack water in plastic bottles and some in sachets and are sold cheaply on the market on the ground that they cannot afford certification fees.
This has led to sale of substandard and counterfeit products on the market.