House told to reject water privatization plan

House told to reject water privatization plan

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A coalition of 40 non-governmental organizations and experts increased the pressure on the House of Representatives on Friday to reject the possibility of water privatization under the water resources bill being deliberated by legislators.

Speaking on behalf of the NGOs, Nila Ardhianie of the Indonesian Forum on Globalization (INFOG), said water privatization would rob low income people, ranging from tap water consumers to farmers, of their access to water.

Water privatization, she said, would spark an increase in tap water charges as private firms would always seek more profits to satisfy their shareholders rather than serving the public interest.

Privatization would double the water charges paid by farmers as they would not only have to pay for irrigation water, but also the maintenance of irrigation schemes, Nila claimed.

"Therefore we demand that the House reject water privatization under the water resources bill," she said.

The NGOs also asked the House to delay the deliberation of the bill pending transparent public consultations and an in-depth analysis on the ecological, social, cultural, religious and economic impacts of the bill.

The coalition, called the People's Coalition on Water Rights, consists of, among others, INFOG, the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), the Farmers Initiative for Ecological Livelihood and Democracy (FIELD), and the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ).

The NGOs held a press conference after the House leaders delayed a plan to listen to the coalition's views regarding the controversial bill, which it is feared could deprive people of their right to water.

Budi Wignyosuprapto, a senior lecturer in Gadjah Mada University supported the coalition's stance. He said that if water charges were doubled, poor farmers would be prevented from accessing water.

"Privatization will make a distinction between water for non- commercial paddy fields and water for commercial agricultural land, including plantations and fish-farming. The powers-that-be will obviously allot more water for commercial purposes," he claimed.

If a farmer wanted to convert his paddy fields into a plantation or fishponds, he must seek a new permit and pay higher water rates to the relevant authority, Budi said, referring to article 41 (1) and (2).

The NGOs also accused the government of lying by saying it would ensure farmers would not have to pay for water if privatization went ahead.

At present, farmers consume about 80 percent of the total water allocation in the country, while tap water companies, bottled water firms, electricity producers and others consume the remaining 20 percent.

Budi said that instead of privatizing the water sector, the government should focus on enforcing good governance among those who now manage the various water services, including state tap water company PAM and dam authorities.

"Public accountability and transparency will ensure that the state firms will not be used as vehicles for corruption," he said.

He suggested that the government force large-scale farmers to pay more for their water.

"With such a mechanism, the government would be able to earn money while at the same time small farmers will experience no difficulty in converting their agricultural land into plantations or fishponds," he said.