Water bill needs more debate: Activist

Water bill needs more debate: Activist

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A foreign activist has encouraged Indonesians to continue
debating privatization and other issues concerning the bill on
water resources, saying that people must have full control over
the use of water resources.

Samir Dossani of the Philippines said recently that a thorough
debate within Indonesia was a must because water involved the
interests of every Indonesian.

There is no doubt, he said, that water services in Indonesia
were poor and, therefore, must be improved.

"Privatization should not be ruled out completely, but
whatever method is chosen by Indonesians must be backed up by
evidence. Indonesia must start out on the goal of providing
affordable water for all, especially the poorest people," he
said.

Dossani said the bill on water resources failed to give the
people control over water resources. Instead, the bill opened the
door to uncontrolled privatization.

Article 40 (2) of the bill stipulates that the government may
set up a regulatory body under the authority of the minister in
charge of water resources and accountable directly to the
minister, as part of the effort to achieve the goal of providing
affordable water and sanitation in a way that met the interests
of both consumers and water companies.

According to Dossani, the regulatory body needed to be a
strong body that was capable of protecting the interests of water
consumers. He pointed to a case involving privatization in
Atlanta, USA, in which the people had taken back control of water
resources.

"In Atlanta, an evaluation was done and there was a large
amount of evidence showing that privatization was not good for
the citizens. Atlanta voted to undo its privatization after a
careful review of the costs and benefits," he said.

By contrast, Jakarta people had no power to control the water
sector. They could do nothing when the charges for tap water
increased despite what they perceived as a lack of improvement in
water quality.

Currently, two international water companies are threatening
to pull out of Jakarta if the government rejects their requests
for increased charges.

Dossani claimed that a number of international institutions,
like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), could
support the interests of giant foreign water companies in the
drafting of the bill.

According to Dossani, those international institutions tended
to take a standard approach to the water sector, focussing on
financial viability above all, and consequently privatization,
decentralization, cost recovery measures and so on.

"Should financial viability, that is, the ability of a utility
to make money, be more important than providing safe, affordable
water to all? This is a question for Indonesians to decide
through democratic processes, not for the World Bank or ADB to
decide," he said.

Dossani was referring to the World Bank-sponsored water
resources sector adjustment loan (Watsal) scheme worth a total of
US$300 million.

The government commited itself to the scheme in 1999 when the
country faced severe financial difficulties following the
economic crisis. The scheme requires that Indonesia reform its
legislation on the water sector to allow for privatization.

The World Bank has indicated that it may not disburse the
Watsal's third and last tranche due to Indonesia's failure to
produce a bill on water resources that met the country's 1999
commitment on water resources policy reform.

But, the World Bank rejected accusations that it was involved
in a possible scenario designed to permit giant foreign companies
to get involved in the water sector in Indonesia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which also co-sponsored the
scheme, rejected The Jakarta Post's request for an interview on
the issue.