Water and sanitation

Over the last 15 years, more than 180 cities and communities in 35 countries have taken back control of their water services, new study reveals.

The remunicipalisation process for Jakarta water utilities is awaiting the outcome of a court decision wherein a number of local groups have challenged the legitimacy of the original concessions awarded over ten years ago. The outcome could determine whether the city could avoid to pay huge sums to buy out the remaining years of the concession contracts.

Overall, a positive assessment, but “there are many challenges ahead”. This was the conclusion reached by the panel of speakers at a round-table discussion entitled “Ten years After Constitutional Reform in Defence of Water”, organised by the National Commission in Defence of Water and Life (CNDAV) on 9 October, at the offices of the union centre, PIT-CNT.

A new major trend has emerged as more and more communities insist on returning water and wastewater services to public management through remunicipalisation. The Water Remunicipalisation Tracker website continues to expand with four new cases of remunicipalisation.

The national symposium entitled “Answering the challenge of water supply in Jakarta” was held on 4 September 2014 in Al Azhar University in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event was organised by the student executive body of the Law Faculty of Al Azhar University and was attended by 147 participants including students from six universities in Jakarta.