Govt assures water still free for daily needs

Govt assures water still free for daily needs

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government assured on Wednesday that the public would not
have to pay for river water used for daily needs such as bathing,
washing clothes, cleaning and cooking, and that water used for
farming and fish ponds owned by small-scale farmers would also
remain free of charge.

Director General for Water Resources Roestam Syarief at the
Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure, however,
said that farmers with export orientation and industrial plants
would have to pay for their water.

Roestam was speaking on the sidelines of a hearing with the
House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV for transportation,
resettlement and regional infrastructure Wednesday, responding to
concerns raised by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
over the water resources bill. The bill is currently being
deliberated by House members, and encourages the privatization of
water resources.

Some NGOs opposed the increased role of private firms in
public utility services, claiming that the firms would merely
think about profits and limit public access to utilities.

The Kehati Biodiversity Foundation and the Indonesian Forum
for the Environment (Walhi) are two NGOs that have expressed
their reservations with the water resources bill.

Kehati executive director Ismid Hadad said on Tuesday that the
bill would bring more hardship to the people, particularly
farmers.

If the bill is passed into law as is, it will endorse
privatization with a lack of public control, which could lead to
excessive water exploitation by private entities, higher water
rates and also limit the urban poor's access to water. In the
long run, uncontrolled exploitation of water resources by private
entities could create water scarcity in urban areas.

Roestam said the bill required public consensus at the
regional level on whether or not a water resource could be
managed by private firms.

"If the public doesn't agree, the government will not issue
any licenses to private firms," he said.

On Tuesday, Minister of Resettlement and Regional
Infrastructure Soenarno said that the water resources bill would
only offer limited privatization and ensure public access to
clean water.

He stressed that under the current bill, private companies
would be limited to managing clean water for household (tap
water) and industrial uses.

"We don't want people who are already deprived of clean water
to become more marginalized after the endorsement of the bill,"
he said.