TAXING WATER; TAXING LIFE By Willie Kanthenga I have a few observations against the proposal in the 2011/2012 National

Budget, to impose 16.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on some basic foods. The importance of food to our bodies cannot be overemphasized more especially in the wake of HIV and Aids pandemic amidst us. Even President Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika has been a strong advocate for food security, noting that anti-retrovi ral treatment without good nutrition (food) can do more harm than good to body. He has also insisted that food is key to aiding good nutrition and HIV and Aids treatment, challenging even multilateral lending institutions, the World Bank an d International Monetary Fund (IMF), who were opposed to the fertilizer subsidy programme. In the same vein, just to stress that food is a very basic commodity, former Fin ance Minister, Friday Jumbe, once argued that it was time Malawi stopped citing food sufficiency as a sign that it had achieved significant development. He said boasting about being food sufficient could not be a sign of progress for a coun try that has been independent for over 40 years. But in a bid to make the 2011/2012 national Budget deficit zero, VAT has been im posed not only on some basic foods, but water as well. Taxing Life: Water is life. And since water is life, one would wonder then if taxing it does not co nstitute taxing life. Medical experts say a human body is made of about 90 per cent water. They recomm ended that an adult person needs to take an average of six glasses of water per day if one is to be in good health. Nearly 60 per cent of Malawians have access to clean or portable water. The rest , about five million people drink unhygienic water, leaving them prone to waterb orne diseases such as dysentery and cholera. Beautiful women and girls drawing water from untreated wells in our cities (not villages) do not make a good sight. The government should consider investing mor e in the water and sanitation sector to improve the situation. The tax on water also comes at a time when some water boards, like Blantyre Wate r Board ration water, and seem not to have a feasible solution to erratic water supply. Bread. Bread is another basic food whose pricing can trigger protests. In September las t year, the Mozambican government learnt the hard way over the hiking of bread p rice. The move sparked violent protests that resulted in seven people being kill ed. Eventually, the government had to rescind its decision. And later, the count ry s Minister for Industry and Trade, Antnio Fernando announced a subsidy on wheat imp orts to ensure low prices of bread. Malawi could emulate her neighbour s example in this regard subsidizing and not taxing bread price. Salt: Principal Secretary responsible for Nutrition, HIV and Aids in the Office of the President and Cabinet, (OPC), Dr Mary Shaba together with Unicef has been champ ioning a campaign to ensure that salt is fortified with iodine. This is intended to curb iodine deficiency related disorders in Malawians, especially in childre n under the age of five. In the campaign, Malawian mothers are encouraged to buy and use salt with iodine in it. According to nutritionists, proper amounts of iodine are needed for growth and d evelopment of the brain. Conversely, low iodine is associated with mental retard ation or poor learning capacity in children. And because salt is a basic commodity, that is why Dr Shaba and her counterparts picked it for fortification to effectively tackle cases of malnutrition. Goiter, Alzheimer s and Parkinson s diseases are other conditions linked to low iodine. Unfortunately, it is this commodity which the zero-deficit budget has targeted, frustrating efforts in the fight against malnutrition. Milk. Milk is nutrient rich and is basically good for child growth. For instance, calc

ium in milk is good for the development of bones, teeth and brain tissue in chil dren. And without calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous (all these found in milk) a dults too risk bone degeneration. Basically the budget attacks nutrition support for the country s future leaders, our children who are more vulnerable to malnutrition. Of course this does not exclu de adults as pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers also need good nourishment . What is being taxed should also be an issue of concern for the Callista Muthar ika Safe Motherhood Foundation. While the government might think it has widened its tax revenue, soon or later i t will have to dig deep in its coffers to fight cases of malnutrition in hospita ls sparked by its own taxing of basic foods. We need water (life), milk, bread and salt untaxed. ENDS.