How can Kenya’s drinking water problem be stopped?

The current flooding in Kenya is quickly raising fears of water-borne diseases spreading across the affected Tana delta region, after the water destroyed countless sanitation facilities. But while the country is facing another health crisis, access to clean and safe drinking water is an issue even at the best of times.

Indeed, Kenya is already forced to cope with an ongoing cholera outbreak in the Yatta region, highlighting the problem of people drinking open source water that is rarely fit for human consumption. The outbreak has hospitalized at least 78 people and claimed the lives of at least four amid a perpetual struggle to secure clean water for Kenya’s 48.5 million people.

In fact, preventable infections account for 80 percent of hospital visits in Kenya, at least half of which are caused by water and general sanitation issues, according to the UN. As a chronically water-scarce country, the UN estimates that only a mere 56 percent of the Kenyan population has access to clean drinking water, leaving millions of people with no choice but to find water where they can. It is therefore not surprising that sales in bottled water have been on the rise for the past years, but as the recent numbers show, Kenyans are too often duped into believing that the water they are purchasing is safe to drink.

Unfortunately, even bottled water cannot be trusted in Kenya. A recent survey has revealed that a stunning 70 percent of bottled water and 60 percent of juice bottles are counterfeit. This comes amid revelations by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (Kebs) that 157 water companies in the country were operating without a certification allowing them to do so. For Kebs, both revelations are embarrassing, considering that the Bureau claims to have implemented a secure quality marks system when it hired Indian security stamps producer Madras Security Printers to supply 600 million stamps per year.

The stamps are meant to contain information on the product and its manufacturer, but Madras is accused of using low-quality material for its stickers, making them easy to copy and rendering the entire system susceptible to fraud. This explains how companies managed to get away with completely disregarding mandatory hygiene standards by filling their bottles with water contaminated with various pathogens that lead to typhoid and cholera – and are thereby directly exacerbating to the country’s health crises.

An obvious solution to the problem of counterfeit beverages is improved regulation. The KRA targeted this approach in late 2017 when it attempted to apply the tried and successfully tested Excisable Goods Management System (EGMS) to bottled water, fruit drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages. A track-and-trace system rolled out in 2013 that compels manufacturers to affix an electronic labelling to each product they sell, the EGMS allows for the products to be tracked from the place of production until it reaches the consumer.

As it turns out, the system has proven to be remarkably successful in reducing illicit trade in tobacco, wines, spirits and beers. In 2016, three years after the EGMS’ implementation, the KRA reported an increase in tax revenue by 40 percent, concurrent with a substantial reduction in revenue leakage from tax evasion and other illicit activities. For cigars and cigarettes alone, tax compliance rose by 45 percent, providing a glimpse of the system’s efficacy. Inspired by these numbers, the system was planned to be unrolled to the wider drinks market in November 2017.

However, expanding EGMS to non-alcoholic drinks has been repeatedly delayed. The process hit a hurdle when activist Okiya Omtatah filed a court case against the KRA, claiming the excise was introduced without the requisite public participation and that imposing duties would force beverage manufacturers to bear the accosts associated with administrative efforts and compliance. But that accusation ignores that the fault for fraudulent bottled water and juice lies with the manufacturers.

That notwithstanding, Omtatah’s petition resulted in the EGMS expansion being temporarily blocked in October 2017 and then deemed unconstitutional by the High Court in March 2018. However, these rulings have since been overturned by a Court of Appeal in May and the KRA was given the green light to continue with its original plans to expand EGMS to bottled water and soft drinks.

The latest ruling spells good news for the health of both the country’s budget and its people. With the extended tax levy estimated to increase state revenues by Sh3.6 billion ($35.7 million) every year, the government can boost the national bank balance and clamp down on illicit bottling facilities in one fell swoop. In turn, this will have a hugely beneficial effect on the general public. The tracking system associated with the excise duty will now place drinks producers under extra scrutiny and act as an enforcement mechanism that ensures that what is on the label is indeed in the bottle.

In the same way that EGMS has sanitized the alcoholic drink and tobacco markets, the system is hoped to sanitize the water market as well. Access to clean water is a right, but in its absence, it must be guaranteed that the water purchased in bottles is fit for human consumption. The health of the nation depends upon it.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.