Manufacturers of bottled water in South Sudan need dollars in order to purchase raw materials internationally for production. Several factories have halted or reduced production because of a scarcity of dollars and fuel to run their businesses.

Nelson Achiek Maker, manager of Cool Water Factory, says that his company is still in business but some of his competitors have halted production. He warns that his company may also stop production if they run out of raw materials.

“We have our own clients, Aquana has clients, Delta has clients but all these clients are coming to Cool because Cool is the only factory operating now,” said Nelson speaking on Radio Miraya.

He pointed out that his company does not have enough raw materials to keep up with demand: “In actual sense I will not afford to supply all of them but the little that have I will serve whoever needs water. I will give all that I produce because per day I am producing 3000. We are just eyeing on government to do something because it is something beyond our capacity.”

Photo: Phil Moore/AFP