Jakarta court cancels world's biggest water privatisation after 18-year failure
The Central Jakarta District Court on 24 March annulled the water privatisation contracts of Suez...and Aetra, finding that the Public-Private Partnerships were negligent in fulfilling the human right to water for Jakarta’s residents. The court decision is the culmination of many years of resistance by a broad coalition of Jakarta residents, trade unions, and other water justice activists. Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary of the global trade union federation Public Services International says: “[The]...decision is a success for the Jakarta citizens and workers, but also for the global water movement. It is further proof of the misguided and myopic World Bank and Asian Development Bank privatization strategies, which are not only unwelcome, but are illegal. We call on the World Bank and the ADB to immediately cease-and-desist all of their privatization initiatives in the water and sanitation sector..." The Central Jakarta District Court decision is coherent with the Indonesian Constitutional Court ruling of 20 February 2015, which annulled Law...on Water Resources passed by the Indonesian government, again under pressure from the World Bank. The ruling was made on the grounds that water resources have to be controlled and allocated for the public benefit, thus private companies cannot monopolize rights over water sources.