Analysts warn of revolt over water

Analysts warn of revolt over water

JAKARTA: A number of activists and analysts are warning the
government of the potential for a social revolution should it go
ahead with its large water privatization plan.

Analyst Hendro Sungkoyo said on Thursday that privatizing
water would force farmers to pay water charges and restrict the
poor from access to clean water, as privatization would treat
water as a commodity, and not as a basic right.

"Water should not be treated as a commodity, as the poor will
not get water if it is traded ... so beware that in sub-villages,
farmers and the poor will fight against water privatization," he
said at a seminar on water privatization.

Henry Saragih of the Indonesian Farmers Federation (FSPI) and
senior journalist Maria Hartiningsih concurred with Hendro.

Maria said poor families would be burdened by water
privatization as they would have to allocate up to 30 percent of
their earnings toward water, as is generally the case in many
countries. -- JP