The Fiji government’s decision to repeal a proposed tax on bottled water has revived concerns that bottled water companies in Fiji are continuing to deplete the islands’ natural resources.
The Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry announced a 20 cent per litre tax on bottled water exported from the country in early July. The impetus behind the tax was to conserve the islands’ natural resources in a country where many people still suffer from contaminated water.
“Mineral water is a scare resource, which will deplete and a fair share of returns has to be passed on to the nation,” said Mr. Chaudhry. He said that “it was about time that water bottling companies pay duty for using Fiji’s mineral water resource”, reported Fiji Village news.
A BBC Panorama investigation in February showed that one third of Fijians do not have access to clean drinking water and many were falling ill and dying from typhoid and other diseases linked to dirty water.
The bottled water tax was proposed to correct this imbalance by stimulating the conservation of water whilst at the same time increasing government revenue.
However, the tax was dropped after pressure from the powerful water bottling lobby which said that the industry would be forced to close, resulting in hundreds of job losses.
The bottled water industry in Fiji accounts for over $150 million per year and employs more than 700 people.
I was on Charity Water’s site and read that over 1 billion people live without clean drinking water. Also, they estimate that it only takes a donation of $20 to give a person clean water for life. Seems like a good cause if anyone cares to check them out.
Classic criminal malfeasance. This has the stains of IMF and Chicago School economics all over it. The People of Fiji suffer from lack of drinking water while it all gets exported to fatten the profits of a few and satisfy the petty appetites of people who really don’t need it.
Fiji’s government, like most 3rd world governments corrupted by western bankers and their hit men, needs to recommit themselves to ordering Fiji’s natural resources to the people FIRST. THEN, after domestic needs are satisfied, they can export or trade any surplus.
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