a) proper consultation with civil society, and b) a serious examination of the reform options. CAP of WATER has called for an international fact finding mission, which is due to visit Ghana next month.
See also this Isodec report
Sawdatu Zakahria lives with her six children in
Saveluga, a poor community on the outskirts of Ghana's
northernmost city, Tamale. She is in her thirties and
has six children.
"I used to get water from the dam (water retention
basin). Until two years ago my children and I used to
get guinea worm," she says. Guinea worm lasts for a
year and for the last 3 months effectively cripples
its carrier as it works its way out of the body
through the feet. Until two years ago, Saveluga had a
one-quarter of the guinea worm in Ghana.
In the 1970s, Saveluga received water, but as Tamale
expanded the pressure in the main dropped and water no
longer reached Savelugu. For years the community was
served by tankers bringing in fresh water but 80% of
the population could not afford it and relied on old
water retention bins.
Led by Community Partnerships for Health and
Development and with a grant of $450,000 from UNICEF
and World Vision, the pipeline was repaired and a new
20,000-gallon overhead water tank built. They also
built 19 public fountains (standpipes with 6 taps
each) and drilled four boreholes.
"I was very grateful when the water came," says
Zakahria. "There is nothing wrong with paying for
water provided you can drink without worrying about
illnesses. And as long as you're healthy, you can
work. I won't allow anyone to interfere with the taps
and I don't think it would be good for someone else to
own them. If it were private, they wouldn't sell it
at the rate we have now."
Each standpipe has a tariff collector - 'pay as you
fetch'. A community-run Water Board (an independent
legal entity, operated on a not-for-profit basis) buys
the water the Ghana Water Co Ltd and sets the tariffs.
In other words, the public utility produces and sells
in bulk, but also remains responsible and able to
regulate the mains and quality of the water.
The community buys around 740,000 gallons a month at a
rate of 9 cedis per gallon and sells it at the
standpipes for 18 cedis per gallon (still many times
cheaper than the cost of water fetched from the
lowlands by people in Accra's slums). Their monthly
revenue is 6 million and the community claims to
contribute 60% more in revenue than a comparable area
without this system. From this they pay Ghana Water
Company, the project manager and the tariff
collectors. The remainder is put aside for expansion.
The Saveluga Water Board also lets the community's
poorest people collect water for free from the
boreholes because they acknowledge that those who
cannot pay will collect their water from unsafe
sources.
Most importantly, the health of people in the area has
improved. In 1997 Saveluga recorded 608 cases of
guinea worms but by 1999 that figure had dropped to
220 and in 2000 just 33 cases.
GHANA, WATER, CAMPAIGNERS AND THE WORLD TRADE
ORGANISATION
Back in Accra, in an industrial area called Tema, Yao
Graham from the NGO Third World Network speaks
passionately to an audience of activists. Huddled
together in an open-air community centre, Graham's
audience hangs on his every word.
"The dismantling of the water sector is the
dismantling of state responsibility," shouts Graham.
"Water is the petroleum of the 21st century. Watch
out what happens when it is privatised."
Yao Graham, ISODEC, the National CAP of Water and
Christian Aid partner organisation the Christian
Council of Ghana, are beginning to respond to the
plans of the World Bank and the Government of Ghana.
A protest movement is developing and new coalition of
NGOs, trade unions, activists and church leaders has
been formed to begin to raise awareness of ordinary
Ghanaians about the water privatisation.
"People already have to pay market tariffs before
privatisation. Market rates would bring us up to
about 80 cents per litre," says a student from the
University of Ghana who has travelled from the centre
of Accra to attend the meeting. "We don't earn market
salaries so how can we pay market rates."
People of many other poor countries facing the
privatisation of parts of their water supply echo this
concern. Already those who led the successful protest
against the water concession in Cochabamba, Bolivia,
have contact with ISODEC and its partners in Ghana.
"There is an emerging, global movement against this
type of privatisation," says Charles Abugre. "People
are not being asked what they want before their water
is sold into private hands. When they realise that
they are asked to fork-out at least half of what they
earn to pay for the profits of wealthy foreign
companies, they will be understandably angry.
The campaigners are particularly angry that the
government of Ghana has been trying both to smear and
co-opt members of the campaign. It distributed a
document to journalists urging people to "ignore
ISODEC" and making allegations about ISODEC's
intensions and credibility. The government has also
worked behind the scenes in an effort to convince the
Christian Council of Ghana that the proposed plans
will not threaten the welfare of poor people in Ghana.
The case of Cochabamba, Bolivia
In January 2000, a general strike shut down the city
of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The target of the uprising was
Aguas Del Tunari, a subsidiary of the Bechtel Group
and its roots lay in the World Bank's push for
privatisation of water.
In 1999, following years of pressure, the Bolivian
government agreed to privatise the public water system
of the country's third largest city, Cochabamba. A
40-year lease turned over control of the utility to a
UK-based subsidiary of utilities giant Bechtel called
International Water Limited.
Within weeks, the company had doubled and then tripled
water rates; families earning less than $100 a month
suddenly faced monthly bills of more than US$20.
The protest continued until April when martial law was
declared. After the death of a protestor, the
government caved in. Public control of the water
system was restored and water rates were rolled back.
By the end of the year the Government of Bolivia
formally cancelled Aguas Del Tunari's 40-year
contract.
However, Bechtel is currently preparing a legal case
against the Bolivian government and is hoping to
recover US$XXXX million in compensation for having to
relinquish the contract.
It is also Christian Aid's concern that if water
becomes subject to WTO agreements then it may become
less and not more accessible to poor people.
This can currently only happen if governments in poor
countries choose to commit public services to the WTO
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and are
prepared to put water in their GATS schedule.
According to the WTO, there is no obligation on those
governments to do so and even if countries commit
water services to the GATS, they will still retain
control over procurement and regulation. Ultimately,
the governments of poor countries will retain the
right to decide who runs their water services and to
hold both domestic and foreign companies to account if
they fail to deliver on the terms of contracts.
However, significant parts of 'services supplied in
the exercise of government authority' (such as water
in Ghana) have already been opened-up to private
sector participation.
Christian Aid is concerned that where public services
have already been opened up to private sector
involvement, often according to World Bank or IMF
conditions, they will not be exempt from the GATS.
Furthermore, any local regulation, such as
environmental or social legislation, might also be
forbidden under the GATS if the WTO could show they
restrict trade.
Also, Christian Aid has learnt that the governments of
poor countries are already coming under pressure to
add vital public services, including water, to their
GATS schedules.
· Ghana has added telecommunications its GATS
schedule. It has also added secondary education
without much debate and clarity about the potential
consequences of such action. It could equally quietly
add any area of public services to its schedule of
offerings.
The WTO's view of Ghana.
"Since the early 1990's, the Republic of Ghana has
sought extensive reforms, in an effort to reverse
previous inward-looking policies. Trade and investment
liberalization has been integral to reform, and has
continued since Ghana's previous review in 1992.
Government policies are now focused on making Ghana
the Gateway to West Africa." WTO Secretariat report,
Ghana trade policy review, February 2001.
The World Bank's view of Ghana
"The macroeconomic situation inherited by the new
administration is worse than could have been
anticipated. In the past eighteen months, Ghana has
been hit by two major shocks: (i) a severe decline of
the terms of trade since mid-1999; and (ii) the
financial impact of loose economic management in the
run up to the December elections." World Bank, Ghana
country brief, 2001.
The Government of Ghana's view of Ghana
"Ghana has suffered a severe terms of trade shock
during 1999-2000 which was compounded by inappropriate
policies and delays in donor disbursements. As a
result many of the program targets for 2000 were not
achieved. " Government of Ghana letter of intent to
the IMF, June 2001.
Christian Aid has been shocked by the actions of
wealthy governments and large corporations in their
efforts to acquire water services and other public
services in poor countries. Through the World Bank
and IMF, and by using the carrot of loans or
donations, these governments and companies, including
the UK are using their power to gain significant poor
country assets.
Despite fears that water privatisation in Ghana will
lead to less access to water for poor people, the
government is under increasing pressure to lease the
most cost-effective and potentially profitable parts
of its water industry.
Christian Aid deplores the pressure put on the
government of Ghana and is urging the World Bank, IMF
and the UK government to consider the welfare of
people in Ghana with limited access to water. In
particular:
- Christian Aid condemns the UK DFID for tying
overseas aid to the leasing of urban water supplies in
Ghana to foreign companies. The UK government, in its
white paper on globalisation, has already made
commitment to end tied aid. But in this case it is
not tying its assistance directly to British business
but rather to the dogma of privatisation. In
Christian Aid's view, this is as unacceptable as
straightforward tied aid and should also be scrapped.
- Water is the most important of all public services.
The people who use, desperately need and are often
denied water that is clean and safe should be
consulted and involved in any plans for restructuring
and privatising services. Moreover, if the UK
government and the World Bank are serious about
tackling poverty they should be promoting
community-led programmes, where those whose need is
greatest are put in control of key decisions.
- It is our belief that, in the light of the case of
Ghana and other countries where water services have
already been opened up to the private sector, the GATS
needs urgent attention. While the current agreement
specifically excludes government services unless
governments choose to open them up to GATS, it is our
concern that the pressure governments are currently
being put under by the World Bank and agencies such as
the UK's DFID may result in a creeping programme of
privatisation.
- Christian Aid is not opposed in principle to every
privatisation and acknowledges that business has an
important role to play in expanding services in
developing countries under certain circumstances.
However, give the character of water as a basic need,
essential to the right to life, water should not be
treated as a common commodity. This implies
guaranteeing access and affordability to the poor even
at the cost of profit. In Ghana this is not the case
and Christian Aid's fear is that the country stands to
lose its most cost effective services, leaving it with
no means of raising revenue to improve those areas
that are least cost-effective.
The World Bank, IMF and wealthy countries are positing
water as a tradable commodity. Creeping and unchecked
privatisation will further develop the trade in water
and water services. Christian Aid's overriding
concern is that once water is 'commodified' and given
a global market value, it will become increasingly
unaffordable and beyond the reach of poor people.
Water is Life. A statement from CAP of WATER CAMPAIGN.
In the interest of two transnational corporations,
vested interests in Ghana, foreign governments and the
World Bank conspire to violate our Right to Water.
We, the members of the Coalition Against the
Privatisation of Water in Ghana (CAP of Water), of
which ISODEC is a part, are motivated by the common
desire, shared by government, to see that all
Ghanaians have access to, and can afford, good quality
drinking water at all times irrespective of their
income levels, their ethnicity, gender, disability and
location. Many of the CAP of Water members are
themselves busy at this task as workers, managers,
researchers, consultants, academics, engineers,
students, community leaders, user associations,
artisans, small businesses, faith-based organisations
and charitable bodies. They bring to this debate a
collective wealth of knowledge and experiences at
multiple levels far in excess of what any single
institution can command. More than that, they bring to
the debate deep belief in the ability of Ghanaians and
Ghanaian institutions to find their own solutions to
their problems. These solutions can arise and endure
only if adequate debate and consultation is permitted,
in an atmosphere of tolerance and transparency.
To this end, we urge, the Parliament, the District
Assemblies, the Metropolitan Assemblies and Municipal
Assemblies to bring their powers to bear on the
illegitimate transactions that are about to close
these deals. In particular, we urge the Local
Assemblies to place injunctions on the transfer of
Water Systems belonging in their respective
jurisdictions until they have thoroughly investigated
the proposed sale deals. A legitimate process of Water
Sector Reform should begin with local consent
Please join the campaign by;
- writing to us at capofwater@netscape.net
- coming to the launch of CAP of Water UK by Charles Abugre, head of ISODEC (Ghana) and leading campaigner on Wednesday 13 March 2002, at the Africa Centre, 38 King Street, Covent Garden, London WC2 - (6.30pm)
- observing the UN day for Water (Friday 22 March ) with a local CAP of Water event of your own.
- URGENTLY sending a fax or e-mail to the following people, urging them to stop the hasty privatization of Ghana's water in order to prevent more people falling into deeper poverty and disease. Please copy your message to us at capofwater@netscape.net
His Excellency Mr. J.A. Kufuor, President of Ghana Tel.: 233-21-676923/4 ext. 110 Fax: 233-21-676934 or 233-21-666528
President James Wolfensohn, World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20433 Email: wolfensohn@worldbank.org
Peter Harold, World Bank Representative, Ghana P. O. Box M27 – Ministries Accra, Ghana Tel: 233-724/22037 Fax: 233-72-227887 Email: pharrold@worldbank.org
Clare Short MP, Secretary of State, DFID, 1 Palace Street, London SW1 E SHE. Tel 44 207 023 000 Fax 0207 023 0016
The UK government is playing an instrumental role in driving forward the privatization of water in Ghana. It is currently withholding overseas aid funds from one water project it has been involved in for many years until the leases for the privatization of urban supplies have been signed.
The right to water is a fundamental, God-given right to all people that dwell on this earth.”
Christian Council of Ghana.
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