Monrovia – The managements of the Diamond Star Mineral Water and Best Aqua Water Companies have rejected reports emanating from the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) of their producing unsafe drinking water.
Report by Augustine T. Tweh – [email protected]
Speaking in an interview with FrontPage Africa (FPA), the CEO of the Diamond Star Mineral Water Company, Alphonso B. Diggs said the water produced by his company comes directly from the Liberia Water and Sewer cooperation, expressing disappointment in the NPHIL report of producing contaminated water for public consumption.
“I don’t have a mold hole, meaning that I don’t have a well that I am drawing water from, I get water directly from Water and Sewer.”
“Water and Sewer produced the water and pump it to us,” he said.
He also said the decision to close his company was masterminded by bigger water companies of the Water Producers Association of Liberia (WPAL), failure on the part of local water producing companies to adhere to a stipulated price of hundred Liberians dollars per water sac last year.
“Some part of last year the water association decided to increase the price of a sachet of water to hundred dollars, but it did not hold, so what they intend doing is putting those small businesses aside to put them out of the market.”
“Those big businesses like Ducor Mineral Water Company, Aqua Mineral water Company, among others,” he noted.
Diggs added that he spent over US$3,900 on required equipment needed to operate the business, asserting that the decision by NPHIL to shut down his cooperation is not genuine, but he will cooperate and follow the legal procedures to get his business functioning.
“I live by their mandate because they are government institution and we responsible to abide by the rules of this country, since they are responsible for health.”
“I been operating this business for three years, so to closed my company without serving me notice I think is wrong, because my business meet the full standard to produce water,” he averred.
Also speaking to FPA, The CEO of the Best Aqua Water Company, Joe P. Thomas said the closure of his business is due to its attachment to a mechanical garage, refuting report disseminated recently in the public by the NPHIL of producing unhealthy mineral water for consumption.
“They came here earlier and said where I have the company is close to the garage, so they asked me to remove the garage away from the company or remove the company away from the garage or construct a demarcation between the company and the garage,” he affirmed.
He also added that the NPHIL requested his corporation to raise the roof of the building and tile the wall of the edifice where the water is produced and store.
“Since I got the information, I am not producing again, the only thing I need to do is what they asked me to do, but not because I am producing unclean mineral water,” Thomas avowed.
The CEO of the Best Aqua Water Company said he accepts the decision of NPHIL to close his business, asserting that as a peaceful citizen his corporation will work in the confines of the public health law to ensure public safety.
“It is not to say that the water is bad or has a bad taste, the only thing they said is that I should fence the company, uplift the roof and tile the edifice of the building where the water is stored, so the remaining will be damage because I can’t defy the law,” he declared.
For his part, the Secretary General of the Water Producers Association of Liberia (WPAL), Loseney Jabateh said WPAL welcomes the decision taken by NPHIL, urging aggrieved parties involved in the situation to seek redress through the legal channel.
“This is government decision and we at the WPAL welcome the idea, because we cannot challenge government decision.”
“For our aggrieved member there is a need to seek redress through the proper channel, we know that they could be aggrieved, but we should not allow our personal interest to supersede the collective interest of our people,” he declared.
Jabateh termed the allegations emanating from CEOs of some water producing companies that the WPAL is the brain behind the decision of NPHIL as a perception and hasty generalization, adding that it is their right to think the way they think, but that does not make it a fact.
“We are in support of what the government did in order to keep the hygienic condition of the public safe. This is not a witch hunt, but rather the fact,” Jabateh averred.
It can be recalled that the National Public health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) recently ordered the closure of 55 mineral water companies for what they termed as “poor service and sanitary conditions”.
The diamond Star Mineral Water Company located in the Neezoe Community, Paynesville City, and the Best Aqua Water Company located in Old road were part of those companies closed for poor service and sanitary conditions.