“We will continue to sell our private label bottled water at the lowest prices for as long as the water shortages continue to plague KwaZulu-Natal,” confirms Sanjeev Raghubir, chief sustainability officer for the Shoprite Group.
“It is also crucial to identify longer-term, sustainable solutions to ensure access to clean drinking water in the province, especially for vulnerable people including the elderly and children.”
To this end, a percentage of proceeds from the sale of 500ml and 1.5L and Eastern Highlands bottled water sold in all Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets nationally is going to the newly established Act for Change Water Fund.
“One of the Fund’s first projects will be to sink a borehole at a school in Verulam, where the local community will also be able to access this clean drinking water,” explains Raghubir.
The retailer has a long history of reaching out and assisting local communities that have been left without water, most notably during South Africa’s persistent drought in 2016 when it donated and transported water to drought-stricken KwaZulu-Natal towns such as Ulundi, Vryheid, Harding, iXopo and more.
