WATER PRIVATIZATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Water Privatization in Developing Countries: A Constant Buzz but No Success



Table of Content

CHAPTER: 1- INTRODUCTION3

Why to Privatise4

Why Are the People against Privatisation?5

Water - A Public or a Private Right-Justification6

CHAPTER: 2- WATER PRIVATISATION: LITERATURE REVIEW8

Forms and Trends in Private Sector Participation11

Management Contract, Lease, Concession, Divestiture, Build Operate and Transfer12

Theoretical Framework of Privatisation14

CHAPTER: 3- WATER PRIVATISATION: ROOTS OF RESISTANCE16

Government and Activists are on the Opposite Side of an Imaginary Fence18

Politics against Water Privatisation19

Fate of Privatisation in India and China25

Water Conflicts27

CHAPTER: 4- WATER PRIVATISATION- REFLECTIONS ON CASE STUDIES31

International Trade Agreements and Loan Conditions are Pushing the Privatisation of Public Water Systems around the World40

Global Industry41

Profit Motive43

Financial Levers45

Trade Rules47

CHAPTER: 5- CONCLUSION51

REFERENCES56

Appendix60

LIST FOR FURTHER STUDY61

CHAPTER: 1- INTRODUCTION

Humanity is polluting, diverting and depleting the wellspring of life at a startling rate. With every passing day, our demand for fresh water outpaces its availability and thousands more people are put at risk. Already, the social, political and economic impacts of water scarcity are rapidly becoming a destabilizing force, with water-related conflicts springing up around the globe. Quite simply, unless we dramatically change our ways, between one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe freshwater shortages within the next quarter-century.

Godfrey (2004) mentions it seemed to sneak up on us, or at least those of us living in the North. Until the past decade, the study of fresh water was left to highly specialized groups of experts—hydrologists, engineers, scientists, city planners, weather forecasters and others with a niche interest in what so many of us took for granted. Many knew about the condition of water in the Third World, including the millions who die of waterborne diseases each year. But this was seen as an issue of poverty, poor sanitation and injustice—all areas that could be addressed in the just world for which we were fighting.

Why to Privatise

Tragically, this global call for action comes in an era guided by the principles of the so-called Washington Consensus, a model of economics rooted in the belief that liberal market economics constitutes the one and only economic choice for the whole world. Competitive nation-states are abandoning natural resources protection and privatising their ecological commons. Everything is now for sale, even those areas of life, such as social services and natural resources (Godfrey, 2004) that were once considered the common heritage of humanity. Governments around the world are abdicating their responsibilities to protect the natural resources in their territory, giving authority away to the private companies involved in resource exploitation.

Faced with the suddenly well-documented freshwater crisis, governments and international institutions are advocating a Washington Consensus solution: the privatisation and commodification of water. Price water, they say in chorus: put it up for sale and let the market determine its future. For them, the debate is closed. Water, say the World Bank and the United Nations, is a "human need," not a "human right." These are not semantics: the difference in interpretation is crucial. A human need can be supplied many ways, especially for those with ...