Editorial
Set price ceiling on sachet water
Dear Editor,
A bag of sachet water (pure water) is now selling at GH 5.00 in Accra and I am trying to find the justification for the arbitrary increase in price by some vendors.
Somewhere last year, the vendors threatened to increase the unit price to 0.30 pesewas but were compelled to maintain it at 0.20 pesewas following resistance from the public.
But with the recent increment, the vendors say they have no choice but sell at previous price the public had resisted. Considering the increasing rate at which prices keep escalating, I fear price per bag could reach GHC 10.00 sometime soon.
I believe pricing of basic commodities such as water should not be left to the discretion of individual traders. I learnt from my limited economics that the government could introduce price control measures (price ceiling) when prices of certain goods and services seem to be increasing at an alarming rate.
Price ceiling is explained as the mandated maximum amount a seller is allowed to charge for a product or service. With the galloping inflation we are witnessing currently, I believe it is time the government stepped in to set a price ceiling on sachet water and other commodities that are becoming expensive every other day.
In the meantime, the water vendors association should be lobbied once again so they revert to the old prices. Whatever be the concern, I strongly believe that the vendors can still make profit when the old prices are maintained or even when it is reduced further.
Mark Omane Sarpong,
Ashaiman-Lebanon.
Dear Editor,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wish to use your respected platform to appeal to the Cocobod to make enough cocoa products available and at reduced prices.
It might interest you to know that there are a lot of people like me who hardly take time to refresh ourselves with cocoa products like chocolate and so forth.
It is occasions like this that make us refresh ourselves with chocolate and other cocoa-related products.
Gladly, inflation has dropped significantly and for ordinary citizens like us, purchasing some of these products at reduced prices is the only way we can experience this reduction.
As usual, the market women would rush to buy and sell them at exorbitant prices, forcing a lot of people to stay away from showing love to friends and families.
I, therefore, appeal to the Cocobod to make the chocolates and other products available in large quantities at vantage points to make them accessible to all.
Maxwell Alabi,
Mamprobi
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Homelessness in Ghana, particularly in major cities like Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is a growing crisis driven by severe housing shortages, economic hardship, and rapid urbanisation.
Thousands of people, including children, sleep on the streets, in front of stores, on pavements, or beneath footbridges at the mercy of the weather due to the lack of accessible, safe, and secure housing. Their situation is even worse when it rains since they have nowhere to hide.
In actual fact, housing infrastructure development is far behind the influx of migrants from rural areas to cities like Accra in search of better prospects, which leads to overcrowding and low-grade housing.
Although the homeless feel safe in their temporary shelters on streets and pavements, it is dangerous to their health. When they are sacked, they soon return to the streets again as they have no place of abode, so the situation becomes a cycle of ‘sacking and returning.’
This menace of homelessness comes as a result of poverty, migration, parental neglect, divorce, among others, which is affecting many women and children. In effect, children who should be in school find themselves on the streets, begging for alms.
Some of them pick whatever they can find, such as half-spoiled products from trash dumps, leftovers from the road, or food scraps. This puts their lives in jeopardy every day by exposing them to illnesses, abuse, drug usage, and human trafficking.
The homeless must be empowered with skills development and job creation opportunities such as vocational training to allow them to become economically self-sufficient and move off the streets.
Ghana cannot progress if she fails to address this menace; therefore, the government must find lasting solutions to the problem by investing in the construction of low-cost, affordable housing units, creating rent-to-own schemes to ensure low-income earners can secure shelter.
Additionally, the government should find ways to reduce the influx of people into cities by creating more jobs and investing in infrastructure in rural areas.
There is the urgent need to enhance support for victims of domestic violence and families in distress, which will go a long way to prevent them from becoming homeless, especially women who face barriers to property ownership.
It is necessary to have more shelters, feeding programmess, rehabilitation facilities, and mandatory school reintegration to address this challenge.
Addressing homelessness in Ghana requires a collaborative approach involving government action, private sector investment in low-cost housing, and support from Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure sustainable, long-term solutions.
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