E

xperts and activists concerned with water privatization have urged the city administration and central government to prepare to take over water operations in the capital, despite the legal dispute not being completely resolved.

UN secretary-general advisory board member on water and sanitation David Boys said in a discussion on water on Wednesday that many aspects could be prepared by the city administration to take over water operations while waiting for the legal dispute to end.

'€œIt takes years to prepare, so the city government needs to prepare immediately,'€ he said.

The Central Jakarta District Court has annulled a cooperation agreement between city owned water operator PAM Jaya and two private firms '€” PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra), ordering the city administration to return water operations to PAM Jaya.

However, the decision cannot yet be implemented as Palyja and Aetra have decided to file an appeal.

Boys said the transition period between the political decision and the actual implementation of public water operations, known as municipalization, was key for residents and the city administration, as it would determine the future of water operations in the city.

'€œThe main priority is to prepare for a management culture that is more participatory,'€ he said, adding that the city administration should involve all elements of society in the decision-making process.

Boys gave an example of the municipalization process in Paris, the preparation of which took three years.

He suggested that residents, workers and public officials in Jakarta should study the public water operations of Paris, which ended its privatization of the system in 2010, as the issue was similar.

'€œWater operations in Paris were also divided into two companies. One of them was Suez Environment, a shareholder of Palyja,'€ he said, adding that water municipalization in Paris had seen revenues generated and a decrease in tariffs.

He added that the Jakarta administration could also use the public-public-partnership concept to request assistance from other cities that had overseen successful water operations, for capacity building and knowledge transfer.

According to Boys, more than 230 cities in the world have taken back control of water operations from private firms. Many cities have done so because of the issue of costs and poor services.

'€œWater tariffs are more expensive and keep on increasing. The contracts are too conflicted while the investment promise is never fulfilled,'€ he said.

Amrta Institute for water literacy director Nila Ardhianie said the city administration and central government had a strong legal foundation to end water privatization.

Besides the Central Jakarta District Court'€™s ruling, the Constitutional Court had also annulled the Water Resources Law, the legal basis of water privatization in Indonesia.

'€œThe city and PAM Jaya could start putting together a road map on how water operations will be conducted in Jakarta,'€ she said.

She said the city should also target meeting clean water and potable water needs.

None of the piped water in Jakarta can be directly consumed, making people rely on bottled water for consumption.

Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has said the administration cannot take any steps as the ruling was still in the process of being challenged.

He also expressed his concern that the legal process could take years.