Unionists blame water woes on �privatisation�

Baboki Kayawe | Wednesday September 23, 2015 16:51

 

The labour movement voiced displeasure at the transition, and took a common position against it yesterday at a water symposium held on the sidelines of the ongoing Public Services International’s (PSI) Regional Conference for Africa and Arab Countries (AFRECON).

Botswana Federation of Public Service Unions (BOFEPUSU) secretary general, Tobokani Rari said by passing the provision of water to “a parastatal and profit oriented entity, government had privatised the water sector.

“The coming in of WUC created an outcry from the public as water rates were hiked, in addition to that efficiency of water provision was compromised and in some instances the supply was reduced through rationing in order to take care of profits,” Rari said.  The federation is of the strong view that water as a fundamental right, must not be privatised as the process considered the highest bidder to execute the service. Moreover, Rari said chances were high that the bidder would not be able to provide water equitably and at affordable charges thereby limiting access.  He argued that water privatisation was always accompanied by exuberant prices as evidenced by the WUC takeover, which immediately saw tariff hikes. All this, Rari charged, was profit maximisation, meant to reduce the cost of water supply, which in turn undermines quality.  “Though people have argued that privatisation improves service delivery, in contrary there is a tendency of cheating in order to maximise profits and that compromises quality service,” he said.  In the US for instance, Rari said, when the water industry was privatised, the company that ran the service was reported to have provided substandard water in pursuit of profits.

Rari added that outsourcing water supply promoted lack of access to clean water and sanitation as well as increasing risks of water borne diseases.

Therefore, he said government must remain with the provision of core fundamental services such as water and health rights, since the public was able to hold government accountable in case services were inefficient. 

For his part, the Botswana Landboards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLHWU) secretary general, Ketlhalefile Motshwegwa said government had a social contract to provide water as a human right to every citizen.

As the year 2015 ends, the International Decade For Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015, Motshwegwa, who is also BOFEPUSU deputy secretary general, noted that it was critical to promote the right to water - through prioritising quality, accessibility and affordability. 

Like Rari, Motshegwa spoke against water privatisation, which he said was “detrimental to human beings and an abduction of government’s social responsibility”.

“The transfer of water services from public to private hands has made it more costly now compared to the time when water distribution was under the auspices of the Department of Water Affairs,” he said.  He added that the poor and the working class felt the brunt the most under the current dispensation. Further, he said the water situation presented challenges of poor sanitation, lowering progress in education and it inhibited growth in the infrastructure sector among others.

“It negatively impacts on other rights such as health, and education. Government must invest more on the water sector reforms.

“It affects other sectors generally as water is fundamental and a prerequisite of every sector.  We shouldn’t be concerned with the water accessibility, and affordability now, we need to be concerned with what will happen to the future generation,” Motshegwa opined.

Robert Rabasimane of the National Amalgamated Workers Union concurred with fellow unionists that water was being privatised in Botswana.  He said since the late 1990s, his union has spoken against any form of privatisation, particularly outsourcing the water sector as that would further impoverish the down trodden and the working class.

Moreover, privatisation as a profit motivated exercise would undermine the quality of water as the frequency of water testing and investment in cleaning processes would interfere with the bottom line.  “Access to water is an undisputed human right for each person, each community. Water is an essential resource that cannot be left to the market force, neither can it be ruled by paradigm of profit,” Rabasimane stressed.

Public Enterprises, Evaluation and Privatisation Agency (PEEPA) chief executive officer Kgotla Ramaphane, who also partook in the penal discussion, stated that privatisation of government services started in the early 2000s, at a time when the public service could no longer meet public demand in terms of service provision.

He said there was need for investment in service provision as rendering services came at a cost.  “This needs to happen across all sectors, not just in the water sector,” he said.

The unions have since commissioned a study on water privatisation led by a senior lecturer in the University of Botswana’s department of public administration and political science, Gladys Mokhawa. The research is said to have commenced last month.