Government, Water Bottling Companies resolve impasse over environmental fee

The National Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced on Thursday that it has resolved the current impasse with water bottling companies on the minimum environmental fee to be paid, following the decision by manufacturers to shut down operations due to what they termed as “exorbitant fees” levied on them.
Adam Kubanja, Chairperson of the South Sudan Manufacturers Association (Left) and Joseph Africano Bartel, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Middle) speak to journalists on Thursday (Photo by Jenifer James)

By Jenifer James

The National Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced on Thursday that it has resolved the current impasse with water bottling companies on the minimum environmental fee to be paid, following the decision by manufacturers to shut down operations due to what they termed as “exorbitant fees” levied on them.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Joseph Africano Bartel, said that government and water bottling companies reached an agreement that will see the latter pay a fee amounting to 1 cent which is equal to 40 South Sudan Pounds per bottle of water manufactured and sold.

On Tuesday, the Water bottling companies in Juba shut down operations, due to high environmental fees levied on them by the National Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The Association for South Sudan Manufacturers issued a press release on January 20, stating that the factories had ceased operations due to environmental fees imposed by the Ministry.

Africano said that they reached an understanding on the fees, at the meeting held on January 22nd with factory owners, as well as the Chairperson and Secretary-General of the Association.

He noted that factories have since yesterday resumed operations, after scarcity of water pushed up water prices in the market.

Africano said that the factories have begun clearing their preforms from the border, signalling that operations were back to normal.

“As we are speaking, I think they have started clearing. Everything is back to normal,” he said.

Africano also emphasized that the environmental fee is not intended to generate revenue for the Ministry, but is part of the project to buy back plastic bottles.

He reiterated that the Ministry in collaboration with PLASCOM-the company hired to collect fees from water manufacturers, and Water Manufacturing Association remain committed to addressing plastic pollution in South Sudan.

“Our environment is our life and our future. That is non-negotiable,” said Africano.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the South Sudan Manufacturers Association, Adam Kubanja admitted that the manufacturers had shut down their factories on January 20th, due to the confusion over the environmental fees.

 “We had a consultative meeting yesterday (Wednesday) for clarity on the amount being charged, and it has come out that the amount being charged is only 20 cents per kilogram, which was very agreeable by all the manufacturers,” he explained.

Kubanja added that the stalemate had been resolved, and operations resumed the following day.

“Today (Thursday), early in the morning, all the factories resumed their day-to-day operations. We would like to notify the entire public that there is no on-going stalemate, water will be supplied to all areas in Juba, and our youths who were considered jobless have resumed their work from today,” he disclosed.

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