Council vows to cancel water management deal

Council vows to cancel water management deal

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council on Monday promised to fight for
the immediate termination of a water management deal between
city-owned tap water firm PDAM Jaya and its two foreign partners.

Speaking to some 500 protesting PDAM Jaya employees, the
council's provisional leaders, Supangat from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Abdul Aziz
Matnur from the Justice Party, said the council would do
everything within its power to return the management of the
city's water supply to PDAM Jaya.

"We will try to return water management to PDAM Jaya by the
end of this month at the latest," Supangat told the 500
employees.

The protesters, from PDAM Jaya's workers' union, have been
protesting the management deal since last year.

Union secretary Zainal Abidin told the legislators the
protesters would return to the City Council building if the
councilors failed to honor their word.

"We'll never quit staging rallies here until our demands are
met," Zainal said.

The workers arrived at the council building at about 11 a.m.
carrying banners, posters, a coffin and effigies of Governor
Sutiyoso and the council's former speaker, Edy Waluyo.

The workers urged the council to press Sutiyoso to cancel the
water management deal with the two foreign firms: PT Thames Pam
Jaya (TPJ) and PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), which are
subsidiaries of Britain's Thames Water International and France's
Lyonnaise des Eaux, respectively.

"The water agreement was full of nuances of corruption and
collusion," Zainal told Supangat, Aziz and other councilors
during the protest on Monday.

If the governor continues to refuse to cancel the agreement,
the workers will suggest that the council ask Sutiyoso to resign,
Zainal said.

Resign

Sutiyoso, a retired three-star Army general, is scheduled to
end his term in 2002.

The protesters also demanded the councilors not renominate Edy
Waluyo as council speaker, saying he had failed to heed their
aspirations.

According to the union members, the water management agreement
was signed in February 1998 by the city administration and local
firms PT Garuda Dipta Semesta (GDS) owned by businessman Anthony
Salim, and PT Kekar Pola Airindo (KPA) controlled by former
president Soeharto's eldest son Sigit Hardjojudanto.

"Why did it suddenly change and the foreign firms managed to
take over the management of the city's water," he asked.

Lyonnaise and Thames had cooperation agreements with GDS and
KPA, respectively, but the local firms pulled out of the
agreements after Soeharto resigned in May last year.

The city, the two foreign firms and related parties are still
renegotiating the water deal.

After conveying their demands to the council members, the
protesters marched to City Hall, located behind the council
building.

There the workers nearly became involved in a clash with city
public order officials after they attempted to forcibly enter
Sutiyoso's office.

Dozens of marines arrived at the scene and were able to calm
the protesters, who left City Hall after their representatives
met with city officials.

Meanwhile, Palyja executive Bernard Lafronge said the council
could not suggest the cancellation of the water management deal
since it had not yet named a speaker or established its
commissions.

"I think the workers tried to force the councilors into
accepting their demands," Lafronge said.

He also denied that the ongoing renegotiation of the water
deal had reached "a deadlock".

"It's still being discussed," he said.

Lafronge said the protesting workers -- in a meeting on the
renegotiation of the deal two weeks ago at City Hall -- also
insisted the water management agreement be revoked.

Under the deal, the foreign firms must first invest in pipe
repair and installation, among other things, before being allowed
to collect water fees from consumers. A certain amount of the
collected money must be given to the city.

"So maybe they thought it was a deadlock, but it wasn't," he
said.

The renegotiation is now being handled by the office of the
coordinating minister for development supervision, he said.

He also said the protests would not disrupt Palyja's service
to the public.

"They are not Palyja's workers or TPJ's workers. They are a
small and nonactive (group of workers)," Bernard said.

Executives of TPJ could not be reached for comment. (jun)