Government is importing unapproved chemical for water treatment - Sam George alleges

The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has alleged that the government has imported a water treatment product for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to use in place of the traditional chlorine.

According to him, the product, One Drop, which will arrive into the country in two weeks time, was approved by the regulatory bodies in Ghana as a disinfectant and not a product for water treatment.

Speaking in an interview on Metro TV on February 1, 2024, stated that the process initiated by the embattled former minister, Cecilia Dapaah.

“In 1908, the colonial government introduced chlorine into the treatment of water in Ghana and chlorine is being used all over the world without a problem. All of a sudden somebody wakes up and decides that a product that has been refused by the UK and USA, which is of Norwegian origin but it is not being used by the people of Norway, is fit for use in Ghana.

“This whole thing started under the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah and now, in about two weeks, the first shipment of the product called One Drop is arriving in Ghana and the Ghana Water Company is buying it to stop the use of chlorine in the treatment of our water” he said.

In the interview, the Ningo Prampram MP questioned the safety and efficacy of One Drop, saying that it was only approved as a disinfectant by the CRIR, EPA and FDA, and that it is currently being used for cleaning in hospitals and at the airport during the COVID pandemic.

“So far, it's been checked by CRIR, EPA and the FDA but it was checked when they brought it in and approved it as a disinfectant. So as we speak today, the product is being used for cleaning in hospitals and also in Kotoka during the COVID,” he added.

He argued that chlorine has been effective and reliable for water treatment, and that introducing One Drop could pose a risk to the health and environment of Ghanaians.

“Chlorine has served us well. Even with that, we are still dealing with some level of contamination in our water. Now you are going to bring a product where the country in which the product is being manufactured, has not approved its use in the purification of its water,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Director of Communication for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagba, who was also on the same program, dispelled the claim made by the Ningo Prampram MP.

He noted that it is not true that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is seeking to move from the use of chlorine in treating water.

NW/OGB

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