The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has accused the government of importing a water treatment product called One Drop for use by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), allegedly in place of the traditional chlorine.
According to George, the One Drop product, set to arrive in the country in two weeks, was approved as a disinfectant but not specifically for water treatment by Ghana’s regulatory bodies.
He claimed that the initiative was started by the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah.
“In 1908, the colonial government introduced chlorine into the treatment of water in Ghana and chlorine is being used all over the world without a problem. All of a sudden somebody wakes up and decides that a product that has been refused by the UK and USA, which is of Norwegian origin but it is not being used by the people of Norway, is fit for use in Ghana.
“This whole thing started under the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah and now, in about two weeks, the first shipment of the product called One Drop is arriving in Ghana and the Ghana Water Company is buying it to stop the use of chlorine in the treatment of our water” he said.
During an interview on Metro TV on February 1, 2024, George questioned the safety and efficacy of One Drop.
He argued that chlorine, a long-standing water treatment agent, has proven effective, while One Drop has been rejected by the UK and USA. George expressed concerns about potential risks to the health and environment of Ghanaians.
“So far, it’s been checked by CRIR, EPA and the FDA but it was checked when they brought it in and approved it as a disinfectant. So as we speak today, the product is being used for cleaning in hospitals and also in Kotoka during the COVID,” he added.
“Chlorine has served us well. Even with that, we are still dealing with some level of contamination in our water. Now you are going to bring a product where the country in which the product is being manufactured, has not approved its use in the purification of its water,” he added.
Contrarily, Richard Ahiagba, the Director of Communication for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), refuted the claim, stating that GWCL is not transitioning away from chlorine in water treatment.