By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
The rains have ceased and water shortage crept in. It is usual in Sierra Leone, a country where provision of water has remained one of the greatest challenges successive governments have been battling with.
But the present shortage is riddled with a difference. The difference lies in the shortage of sachet water popularly called ‘pure water’ being the most suitable alternative to rain borehole water.
Albeit other critical opinions held by most members of the public about the sachet water, it has gone a long way to reduce incidents of Cholera epidemic, as years have gone by without any major incident of cholera outbreak.
The water was, in recent past, available and affordable to most homes and offices owing to the appreciable price.
The once cherished price has shot up owing to a slight business adjustment by water companies who blame it on production cost.
The increase in price generated endless discussions in certain communities in Freetown.
Wholesalers and retailers were dissatisfied with the increase in price in the face of tough economic situation in the country.
The demand for sachet water sharply declined as people turned to boreholes and rain water for alternatives.
Since the demand for sachet water has fallen sharply because of price hike, water suppliers have cut down the quantity supplied to retailers owing to the prevalent low demand.
The customers have been used to the low price for ‘pure water’ as directly opposed to the suppliers who are ready to supply at the new price.
A celebrated economic principle is worth quoting here: ‘the higher the price the higher the supply and the lower the price the lower the supply.’
Most suppliers seem jittery about the quantity they supply to their customers.
The apprehensive situation is caused by the lack of effective demand by end users.
Arguably, the shortage of sachet water is acutely felt at Hastings community and its environs that are situated in the outskirts of Freetown.
The age-old community is growing with dense population as new settlements are springing up unchecked.
Hastings is quickly relegating to a landing place for those from the provinces, but services to make life worth living are virtually absent including water, one of the most basic needs.
It hosts a number of retailers of sachet water. Most of them are involved in the trade to make ends meet in their various homes.
They believe that the profit derived from the proceeds of sale could supplement their finances at home.
Currently, they are less declined to involve in the trade saying the trade is not worth going into.
Lovetta Conteh is a former teacher in one of the secondary schools in Waterloo.
She has taught for several years without salary.The non-payment of salary has caused Lovetta untold hardship and has withdrawn from the teaching service.
She now stays at New York community in Hastings. She has taken to petty trading of assorted goods including sachet water which dividends she was using to make life going, but situation is no longer the same.
Lovetta no longer sells water owing to the price hikes and fluctuations.
She told Nightwatch that before this time, the sachet water sale was relatively lucrative.
“At the time the price of a bundle of sachet water was Le 2, 500. I sold at the price of Le 500 for two packets, and we made a profit of Le 2,500.
But now the price of the bundle has been increased to Le 3,500 or even Le 4,000. How can I sell if I buy at such price,” Lovetta wondered.
By Lovetta’s account, the sachet water trade was an economic windfall as the profit was equal to the purchasing price.
Such super normal profit was an inducement for Lovetta to stay in the trade.
She was completely comfortable with the trade with no thought that the situation would not be on her side come one day.
The latest changes in the price of sachet water have driven Lovetta away from the water trade.
She explained to Nightwatch that no amount of persuasion would bring her back to the trade as the hay days have gone.
“I am no more interested in the sachet water trade as the profit I used to enjoy is no more there. I prefer selling other commodities to selling sachet water. Consumers in this community are not willing to buy a packet of water at the price of Le 500,” Lovetta said.
As Lovetta laments the abnormal water situation, another lady, Wanda Jalloh, joined in the discussion.
She explained to Nightwatch how freezers have remained closed in her community since the new water price was announced.
“I and most of my colleagues have stopped selling packet water because of the increase in the price. Most water consumers are blaming the price increase on us. They don’t know that the price increase came from the manufacturing companies. They want to drink pure water, but they don’t want to pay the price,” Jalloh said.
Madam Jalloh painted a picture of an inelastic demand on the part of the water consumers, but the new price of ‘pure water’ have forced customers’ demand to be elastic.
Since alternative sources, boreholes and rain water, are available, consumers have decided to go for them.
Jalloh further told Nightwatch that before this time, she sold two or three bundles of sachet water a day.
It was out of this money that she took care of petty expenses at home including preparing breakfast and lunch for the kids before they go to school.
Since Jalloh has stayed in the trade for quite a long time, she was not willing to quit.
She explained that few days back, she bought some bundles of sachet water and tried to sell at the price of Le 500 for one sachet to her customers. Situation was quite different when compared to previous times.
“The day’s sales are poor. Only half a bundle was sold,” Jalloh explained. “If situation continues, I would stop selling,” she added.
One of the residents at Hastings community, Hassan Kamara, is a loyal customer to retailers of sachet water.
Kamara explained that in the past, he drank only pure water owing to the fear of cholera and other health hazards.
“Since pure water was introduced to the market, I have never experienced cholera outbreak in the community. The avoidance of cholera is the main reason. I had no intention to give up drinking pure water,” Kamara said.
However, the prevalent situation is compelling Kamara to give up his loyalty saying that he could not purchase a sachet of water at the price of Le 500 considering the quantity he consumes for the day.
“I usually drink ten or eleven sachets of water a day which costs me Le 2,500. Now it costs me Le 5,000. I don’t think I will put up with such a situation,” Kamara said.
Provision of safe drinking water is one of the cherished goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2030.
This document places obligations on countries in the world to achieve the availability and affordability of essential services to the people including water.
It replaced the Millennium Development Goals, 2015 which many nations, including Sierra Leone, failed woefully.
As a result of such failure, the SDG was introduced with an extension of time, hoping that countries would achieve where they hitherto failed.
Sierra Leone has expressed her commitment under this document to achieve all 17 goals contained in the document including the provision of water.
Whether the objective of providing safe drinking water to a teeming population in Freetown and other parts of the country would be achieved in 2030, is an issue of wait-and-see.