Privatization needed to boost water distribution, says WB<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The World Bank is calling on the government to proceed with
\nits higly criticized plan to actively involve the private sector
\nin managing clean water services to help improve people's access
\nto water.<\/p>\n
Richard M. Hopkins, Regional Water and Sanitation Specialist
\nof East Asia and the Pacific World Bank Office, said on Tuesday
\nthat the involvement of the private sector in managing clean
\nwater services was necessary as the government would never have
\nenough funds to meet the demand for water.<\/p>\n
\"Private firms will help expand clean water distribution to
\npeople at affordable prices, but at the same time enable the
\nfirms to make profit,\" Hopkins said at a press briefing jointly
\nheld by AusAid and the World Bank on water supply and sanitation
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
Therefore, a law to regulate the involvement of the private
\nsector in the clean water business must be pursued, he added.<\/p>\n
He was commenting on the current controversy over the water
\nresources bill that would allow for widespread participation from
\nprivate firms in managing clean water services.<\/p>\n
Hopkins said without clear regulations, private firms would
\nbecome like a mafia, citing the ugly practices by clean water
\nproviders in dry areas, where they set the rate of their product
\n10 times higher than the price set by the tap water company.<\/p>\n
The tap water business in Jakarta has sparked controversy due
\nto the absence of a clear contract agreement between private tap
\nwater firms and city water company PDAM Jaya, for example on the
\npricing structure.<\/p>\n
At present, private firms have been allowed to provide tap
\nwater, serve areas that lack clean water and produce bottled
\ndrinking water.<\/p>\n
Under the draft law on water resources, an independent body
\nmust be set up to oversee the performance of private firms, which
\nwould include ensuring that water rates would not overburden the
\npublic.<\/p>\n
\"I think the present opposition against the broad involvement
\nof the private sector in managing water services is an emotional
\nresponse,\" Hopkins said.<\/p>\n
He cited Macau and Chile as success stories of private firms
\nmanaging clean water services.<\/p>\n
But he admitted that in Argentina, there was difficulty with
\nprivate firms in the water business due to a weak contract
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
The government submitted the bill on water resources to the
\nHouse of Representatives last year, and private sector
\ninvolvement has drawn criticism from various parties.<\/p>\n
Opposition to the bill has come from, among others, the Kehati
\nBiodiversity Foundation and the Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment (Walhi).<\/p>\n
Kehati executive director Ismid Hadad decided that the bill
\nwould bring more hardship to the people, including millions of
\nfarmers, which he claimed would have to pay for irrigation water.<\/p>\n
They said they feared that if the bill were passed into law in
\nits current state, it would endorse privatization without much
\ngovernmental control, and this would lead to excessive water
\nexploitation by private entities, higher water rates and also
\nlimit the urban poor's access to water.<\/p>\n
The government has assured the people however, that they would
\nnot have to pay for river water used for daily needs such as
\nbathing, washing clothes, cleaning and cooking, and that water
\nused for farming and fish ponds owned by small-scale farmers
\nwould also remain free of charge.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/privatization-needed-to-boost-water-distribution-says-wb-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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