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The impact of water services privatization in Jakarta

1 January, 2015
Source: 
PSI, TNI, Amrta Institute for water literacy, SP-PDAM Jakarta
The impact of water services privatization in Jakarta
This leaflet on water privatization in Jakarta is the second in a series of four leaflets published by Public Services International, Transnational Institute, Amrta Institute for Water Literacy and Jakarta Water Trade Union.

Water service interruptions are a frequent problem for residents of Jakarta. In 2013 alone, the city’s water utility PAM Jaya reported nearly 40,000 complaints regarding tap water outages. This high number of cases comes after 15 years of deficient private water management. In 1998, PAM Jaya granted a concession to two private operators to operate Palyja and Aetra. Ironically, the reason for the privatization was to improve water services.

International experience demonstrated that privatization of water services generally ends up in failure. Some of the reasons are that it increases water tariffs; lacks accountability; leaves the poor with no access to clean water; pursues profit-oriented goals that do not encourage costly development of the piped network; leads to job reductions for efficiency that puts at risk the quality of service. Despite all the failures, once water is privatized it becomes very difficult to terminate contracts. This is exactly what happened in Jakarta.

The four leaflets can be accessed here:

  1. It is Time to End Water Privatisation
  2. The Impact of Water Privatisation in Jakarta
  3. The Unfair Cooperation Agreement on Water Privatisation
  4. The Reliable Performance of Public Water Services

 

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