RI told to establish independent water body

RI told to establish independent water body

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recommended the Indonesian
government to set up an independent water regulatory body to
create a transparent pricing scheme and to mediate disputes
between consumers and tap water providers.

The head of the ADB Water Regulation Team in Indonesia, Ilze
Gotelli, said on Wednesday that the establishment of a regulatory
body would ensure that people get better quality water at an
affordable price.

Its establishment would be part of the reforms to separate the
functions among regulatory, policy (government) and business
institutions, she said.

"With the change, I'm optimistic that the water sector can
lure more firms to provide more tap water to Indonesians," she
said at a seminar on water regulation priorities in emerging
markets.

The regulatory body should be formed based on a new water
resources law, she added.

Gotelli said that to date the country's water pricing policy
was not transparent, with tap water providers failing to provide
good quality water to more people.

Even if tap water providers served people with a poor quality
of water, they wouldn't be penalized, she said.

"Therefore, the country should no longer maintain the existing
system," said Gotelli.

The country should learn from the success of regulatory bodies
established in other countries such as England, Chile, Victoria
(Australia), New Jersey, Manila and Buenos Aires, she said.

Achmad Lanti, the chairman of Jakarta's water supply
regulatory body, agreed with Gotelli.

"A national water regulatory body should have two main tasks
-- to act as a super regulator and to mediate local disputes as
an appeals board," he said.

Jakarta established an independent water supply regulatory
body in 2001 with the role of encouraging more investment,
improving water supply and protecting the interests of Jakarta's
consumers.

The regulatory body, however, has yet to make a concrete
impact on Jakarta's residents.

At the national level, the House of Representatives will
deliberate a bill on water resources.

There are dozens of provincial government-owned tap water
companies in the country, two of which are operating in Jakarta
-- P.T. PAM Lyonnaise Jaya and P.T. Thames Pam Jaya.