RI needs huge investment for clean drinking water: Experts
RI needs huge investment for clean drinking water: Experts
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Indonesia needs a massive effort and investment of up to US$5
billion, to be able to supply half of its population with clean
drinking water by 2015, experts say.
Core problems exist within the regional administration-owned
tap water companies (PDAM) nationwide, they said during the Indo
Water Expo held at the Jakarta Convention Center, which was
participated in by some 200 exhibitors from 20 countries.
A total of 316 PDAMs operate across the country, with average
losses of approximately 35 percent. About 65 percent of the PDAMs
are burdened with corporate debts of about Rp 4.5 trillion (about
$489.13 million) in total.
According to Helmut Krist, a coordinator at a water management
project in Indonesia and Timor Leste, some of the key problems
include lack of understanding and business focus at the
management levels on how to improve the systems. The owners of
the PDAMs -- local administrations -- generally do not have a
consistent strategy on how to improve performance, attract
investment or how to turn the PDAMs into professional business
entities, providing high quality services to their customers.
"Since decentralization in 1999, PDAMs are becoming more
independent and self-reliant; however many face serious difficul
ties in providing service (quality, quantity, continuity) or in
expanding their systems to increase the coverage of piped water,"
Kris said on Wednesday. "The current coverage for the whole urban
population is around 38 percent, or six million house connections
for 100 million people.
"This leads to an increasing degradation of fresh water
resources and will hamper in a significant way the economic and
social development of Indonesia. The high infant mortality rate
and incidence of typhoid are associated with water-borne diseases
closely linked to inadequate water, sanitation and drainage
services. Economic losses due to inadequate sanitation are
estimated at 2.4 percent of GDP, or about $6.8 billion per year."
Didier Perez, project leader for Euro Promocap Iwat (Promoting
European Capacity Building in Indonesia Water Utilities) project
said, "The 2001 Bonn charter, which was supported by the World
Health Organization, targets for its implementation to provide
greater surety in providing drinking water.
"It clarifies that water utilities should play a central role
in delivering safe water services to consumers, ensure staff with
sufficient skills and training and maintain adequate accounts in
line with government requirements," he said.
Indonesia, he said, would suffer from water shortages by 2025
unless a radical change is achieved in its network efficiency.
The UN Millennium Development Goal, developed at the
Johannesburg Earth Summit in 2002, states that by 2025 access to
safe drinking water must be made available for the whole world
population.
Suyono Dikun, Deputy Minister for Infrastructure at the
National Development Planning Board (BAPPENAS), said: "We realize
that we are facing catastrophic conditions. The population will
reach 246 millions in 2015 and will probably hit 300 million in
2025."
This could pose a problem as the provision of water and envi
ronmental sanitation are far behind population growth. More than
100 million people live without proper access to clean water, he
said.
"The land's water-carrying capacity is declining consistently
due to rampant deforestation, illegal logging, illegal mining and
other destructive acts," he added.
"It has been predicted that there will be a water deficit
starting in 2005 in Java," he added.
Experts on the panels said that about 90 percent of PDAMs did
not perform well due to management and financial problems.
"According to the decentralization law, water supply and
sanitation are the responsibility of local administrations but
the priority given to those sectors in districts is still very
low compared to other sectors," Suyono said.
"The government alone will never have enough money to serve
the whole population as other problems exist, such as the lack of
a policy and regulation framework," he added.
Experts said that PDAM's challenges include limited
infrastructure networks, poor management and technical skills and
limited investment capital. (005)