Against the backdrop of shortage of treated water for the people to drink in many states in the country, some states are being pressed by the World Bank for the privatisation of water. At the same time, the privatisation is drawing the ire of Nigerians on the ground that it will deny access to water by poor people across the country.
Unfortunately, it is the World Bank and International Finance Corporation led public-private partnership that is promoting the terrible anti-people policy of privatisation of water in developing countries, particularly in Nigeria. Labour unions and rights groups too are against this obnoxious policy, as it will deny access to water by poor people.
Irked by the obnoxious development, a concerned United States Congressional representative, Gwen Moore, has in a letter to the World Bank’s president, accused the IFC of conflict of interest for its equity stake in companies promoting the privatisation of water in a number of countries in the world, including Nigeria.
In the letter, the Congressman questioned World Bank/ IFC’s role in the privatisation scheme, asking it to stop funding and promoting water privatisation, pending an independent review and congressional hearings on conflicts of interest created by its investments in water privatisers.
It is sad and bizarre that out of ignorance, some state governments are unabashedly embracing the World Bank/IFC ploy again, forgetting that they cannot tax everything and that the government has the responsibility of providing for the welfare of the people, particularly when it comes to the supply of treated pipe-borne water supply
Water is given by nature. Without water, there is no life. It is seen across the world as a gift from God. It is, therefore, seen as government’s responsibility to provide affordable water to its citizens. It is seen as one of the social responsibilities of every government. This is why it is often said that a government that cannot provide ordinary pipe borne water to its citizens is useless and not worth being called a government.
Even in western countries where the supply of treated pipe borne water to homes and offices for drinking is metered, the bills passed to consumers are meagre and for government to recoup part of the cost of providing such water.
Only recently, on the occasion of this year’s International Water Day, the Nigeria Labour Congress and some of its affiliate organisations, including the Amalgamated Union of Public Services; Joint Action Front; as well other groups like the Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre; Centre for Dignity; African Women Water Sanitation and Hygiene Network; and the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria participated in a protest to oppose the looming privatisation of water in Lagos and many other states in the country.
It must be noted that most of the loans hanging on the necks of most states today were World Bank-induced and were taken to provide pipe borne water. There were little or no local contents in the contracts. Most of the contracts for the water supply were given to foreign companies.
The pipes laid for the water supply were manufactured overseas and the water treatment plants were manufactured overseas. Only the labour persons that dug the soil for laying the pipes were sourced locally. That is how the World Bank cheats developing countries. Now, the same World Bank and IFC, its private sector lending arm, are pressing state governments to privatise water supply.
It is sad and bizarre that out of ignorance, some state governments are unabashedly embracing the World Bank/IFC ploy again, forgetting that they cannot tax everything and that the government has the responsibility of providing for the welfare of the people, particularly when it comes to the supply of treated pipe-borne water supply.
It must be noted that when the crime rate went up in some states and there were serious threats to security of life and property in the country, some states such as Lagos State set up security trust funds; concerned citizens and businesses contributed money to the state governments to enable them purchase jeeps and other gadgets for effective patrol of the state. If the citizens had shown so much cooperation with the government, should the government return their goodness with this punitive anti- people water policy?
It is, indeed, sad and unbelievable that a so-called pro-people government of Lagos State has been clandestinely pursuing moves to privatise water in the state and it has taken the stiff opposition by labour unions and rights groups to oppose the clandestine moves of the state government on the matter. Even the World Bank/IFC which is supposed to finance the project had to back out of the project probably not being able to withstand the angst of protesters who had hit out at them for supporting the move.
Knowing the unpopularity of the World Bank/IFC-backed policy and the open antagonism of the people to it, the state government has cunningly maintained that it is not privatising water but wants to enter into a public, private partnership for its water system. What does such a public, private partnership lead to in water supply system, if it will not involve taxing the people for God’s given water?
*Onibile, a veteran journalist and economist, lives in Lagos
