S

iti Badriyah, a 29'year-old environment consultant, put a Rp 100,000 bill (US$10) in a box labeled Public Donations to Save Jakarta Water at the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) office in South Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

Siti, who lives in Mampang, South Jakarta, and is a customer of city water operator PAM Jaya, said she hoped her donation would be used to help the city administration take over water distribution, which is currently managed by private firms.

Jakarta's clean water facilities have been being managed by PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) in the west of the city and PT Aetra Air Jakarta in the east for 16 years.

Siti said that letting private companies manage the water, which was a basic need for people, brought no benefit for either the public or the government.

'The private companies only look to make a profit. No wonder if the water prices in our city are some of the highest in the world,' she said, adding that she had to pay around Rp 7,000 per cubic meter.

Low-income city-dwellers pay only Rp 1,050 per cubic meter but few of them enjoy the facilities.

Siti said the high prices were not accompanied by good service as many people still complained that the quality of the city's water and the maintenance of pipes were poor.

According to some experts, besides poor performance, both companies also have caused state losses due to the payment scheme they use.

Palyja and Aetra implement a dual financing program that differentiates between the price PAM Jaya pays operators to supply water to households and the price charged to customers, allowing the firms to reap huge profits by overcharging customers.

'If the city administration wanted to buy the companies, Jakartans like me would be happy to chip in,' she said, adding that many of her friends also planned to donate money.

According to the ICW, the city would have to pay around Rp 9 trillion to buy shares from both companies and Rp 2.2 trillion to terminate the contracts with both companies.

Besides taking legal action by filing a citizens' lawsuit, the Coalition of Jakarta Residents Opposing Water Privatization (KMMSAJ) is organizing a fund-raiser to help the city administration take over operations and put an end to the 16 years of water privatization.

Muhammad Reza, coordinator of one of the coalition's members, the People's Coalition for the Right to Water (KRuHA), said on Wednesday that the movement to save Jakarta's water was intended not only to urge the city administration to immediately take over the distribution of water but also to encourage the public to become more aware of the issue.

'We plan to install donation boxes in shopping malls and the ICW is now preparing to open a bank account so people can directly wire their donations,' he said.

Reza said that besides donation boxes, the coalition would also set up complaint posts for residents who felt disadvantaged by the companies.

'We plan to set these up in impoverished areas, such as Muara Baru and Koja in North Jakarta,' he said.