There are at least 250,000 public water utilities in the world. Some are strong, some are weak. Together, they have the skills to answer almost any problem in the sector. But, for a variety of reasons, cooperation among public utilities is relatively rare. This is especially true across
national borders and in the international water ‘family’.
PSI has long advocated public-public partnerships instead of the public-private profit-making model imposed by the World Bank, regional development banks and a number of donor countries. Our ability to work with unions, public managers and NGOs has given more depth to our advocacy, to the extent that the water operator partnerships (WOPs) concept has now entered into the language of the
international water family. Kofi Annan accepted the concept and asked UN Habitat to implement such partnerships. WOPs were discussed at the recent Stockholm Water Week and at the congress of the International Water Association. The Asian Development Bank is spending Japanese money to implement WOPs in the region.
The question is, whose WOPs are we talking about? The private water companies and their various lobbying groups are trying desperately to prevent public-public partnerships, as these will inevitably cost them opportunities for new contracts. And a number of governments are resisting, as they want to use their aid funds in the sector to give their own companies lucrative
contracts. So, even though we are making progress, we need to remember that the profit motive is extremely powerful and deeply entrenched, even in countries where the majority of water utilities are owned and managed by the public sector.
Unions are helping create the conditions for public-public partnerships, for example, in Argentina and Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia, and within the Philippines. A number are working to support this project with their governments, for example in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria. If your union can help promote public water utilities, please contact david.boys@world-psi.org
The original UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board proposal : http://www.unsgab.org/hap.htm
UN Habitat : http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=5377&catid=270&typeid=3&subMenuId=0
The Asian Development Bank’s regional implementation : http://www.adb.org/water/operations/partnerships/GWP-water-operators.asp
Including their network building : http://www.adb.org/water/operations/partnerships/networks.asp