By Emad Mekay
WASHINGTON, Dec 3 2002 (IPS)

Groups that oppose water privatisation are urging companies that make water meters to immediately stop producing them because the devices help make clean and safe water inaccessible for millions of poor people across the globe.

The new demand comes in a protest letter signed by ”hundreds” of organisations and individuals worldwide who oppose the sale of clean water and complain that pre-paid water meters, which operate like pre-paid phone cards, contribute to the spread of disease.

The appeal, part of a worldwide campaign to stop selling water, was sent Tuesday to the South African company CONLOG, headquartered in Durban, and two other major water meter manufacturers.

The signers, who defend water as a human right, implored CONLOG to be ”socially responsible”.

"Pre-paid meters are strategically designed to deny water and electricity to those who cannot afford to pay," said Wenonah Hauter, of the U.S. consumer group Public Citizen, which spearheaded the sign-on effort.

"Any policy that encourages the spread of disease and suffering is irresponsible and should be condemned."

Civil society groups like Public Citizen and Sweetwater Alliance, a U.S.-based organisation, are worried about the growing use of pre-paid water and electricity meters by private companies and governments, particularly in poor countries in Africa.

”Water is a human right and not a marketable commodity to which access can be determined by whether or not one can pay,” said the groups in their letter, addressed to CONLOG General Manager Dudley Miller.

Governments and private water companies are promoting pre-paid water meters because of the World Bank’s strategy to ensure "full cost recovery" and to cut subsidies for basic services, say the groups.

The Bank has repeatedly denied that it advocates such water policies but acknowledges that it promotes cost recovery measures.

The meters require consumers to pay for water before they use it, then insert the pre-paid card into the meter above a tap. As the water flows, the balance is adjusted, and the remaining credit displayed.

Municipalities and private water companies welcome meters because they say the devices allow consumers to monitor their usage and keep up their payments. The firms can also deduct arrears by deducting a portion of the pre-paid amount.

The meters are considered efficient and cost-effective for companies, because they cut off users when the paid water is consumed.

But the groups say the public health impact of the meters, which are often installed in poverty-stricken communities to replace regular faucets, can be devastating.

Research on a recent cholera outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa conducted by the Rural Services and Development Network, concluded that its causes were linked to increased consumer fees, the installation of pre-paid meters and the special vulnerability of people living with HIV to cholera.

The groups say meters force families to cut down on their consumption of water and to make difficult trade-offs between food, medicines, school fees or water.

"Corporations seeking profit from a natural resource will never create a product or system that will benefit the disadvantaged," said Trevor Ngwane of the Anti-Privatisation Forum in South Africa in a statement.

"Being efficient on one end only leads to a backlog of expenses on the other end when people who can’t afford clean water get sick from drinking dirty water and then seek services at public health clinics."

South Africa has become synonymous with the struggle for clean and safe water and with the fight against water meters.

Townships around Johannesburg, Durban and other major cities have become flagships of opposition to water sales. The meters are common in Thabanchu, Mossel Bay, Ladismith, and Cape Town.

Activists from Public Citizen, the Council of Canadians, Polaris Institute, Sierra Club, Anti-Privatisation Forum, and the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) have visited townships where many people have had their water and electricity cut off.

Hundreds of thousands of families in South Africa country have reportedly had their water supply cut off since the government implemented the World Bank-inspired "cost recovery" programme, the groups say.

That often leads to clashes, and enraged residents have previously resorted to burning tyres and erecting barricades in protest while police often respond with teargas and rubber bullets.

Pre-paid water meters were declared illegal in the United Kingdom under the U.K. Water Act of 1998, after water cut-offs were linked to increased cases of dysentery and other diseases related to shortages of clean water.

Major companies such as CONLOG, Meinecke and British firm Atlantic Meters market the meters, especially to governments and private companies in the developing world.

The major companies have recently signed new contracts in Namibia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Brazil, Swaziland and Curacao.

Excerpt:

By Emad Mekay
WASHINGTON, Dec 3 2002 (IPS)

Groups that oppose water privatisation are urging companies that make water meters to immediately stop producing them because the devices help make clean and safe water inaccessible for millions of poor people across the globe.

The new demand comes in a protest letter signed by “hundreds” of organisations and individuals worldwide who oppose the sale of clean water and complain that pre-paid water meters, which operate like pre-paid phone cards, contribute to the spread of disease.

The appeal, part of a worldwide campaign to stop selling water, was sent Tuesday to the South African company CONLOG, headquartered in Durban, and two other major water meter manufacturers.

The signers, who defend water as a human right, implored CONLOG to be “socially responsible”.

“Pre-paid meters are strategically designed to deny water and electricity to those who cannot afford to pay,” said Wenonah Hauter, of the U.S. consumer group Public Citizen, which spearheaded the sign-on effort.

“Any policy that encourages the spread of disease and suffering is irresponsible and should be condemned.”

Civil society groups like Public Citizen and Sweetwater Alliance, a U.S.-based organisation, are worried about the growing use of pre-paid water and electricity meters by private companies and governments, particularly in poor countries in Africa.

“Water is a human right and not a marketable commodity to which access can be determined by whether or not one can pay,” said the groups in their letter, addressed to CONLOG General Manager Dudley Miller.

Governments and private water companies are promoting pre-paid water meters because of the World Bank’s strategy to ensure “full cost recovery” and to cut subsidies for basic services, say the groups.

The Bank has repeatedly denied that it advocates such water policies but acknowledges that it promotes cost recovery measures.

The meters require consumers to pay for water before they use it, then insert the pre-paid card into the meter above a tap. As the water flows, the balance is adjusted, and the remaining credit displayed.

Municipalities and private water companies welcome meters because they say the devices allow consumers to monitor their usage and keep up their payments. The firms can also deduct arrears by deducting a portion of the pre-paid amount.

The meters are considered efficient and cost-effective for companies, because they cut off users when the paid water is consumed.

But the groups say the public health impact of the meters, which are often installed in poverty-stricken communities to replace regular faucets, can be devastating.

Research on a recent cholera outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa conducted by the Rural Services and Development Network, concluded that its causes were linked to increased consumer fees, the installation of pre-paid meters and the special vulnerability of people living with HIV to cholera.

The groups say meters force families to cut down on their consumption of water and to make difficult trade-offs between food, medicines, school fees or water.

“Corporations seeking profit from a natural resource will never create a product or system that will benefit the disadvantaged,” said Trevor Ngwane of the Anti-Privatisation Forum in South Africa in a statement.

“Being efficient on one end only leads to a backlog of expenses on the other end when people who can’t afford clean water get sick from drinking dirty water and then seek services at public health clinics.”

South Africa has become synonymous with the struggle for clean and safe water and with the fight against water meters.

Townships around Johannesburg, Durban and other major cities have become flagships of opposition to water sales. The meters are common in Thabanchu, Mossel Bay, Ladismith, and Cape Town.

Activists from Public Citizen, the Council of Canadians, Polaris Institute, Sierra Club, Anti-Privatisation Forum, and the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) have visited townships where many people have had their water and electricity cut off.

Hundreds of thousands of families in South Africa country have reportedly had their water supply cut off since the government implemented the World Bank-inspired “cost recovery” programme, the groups say.

That often leads to clashes, and enraged residents have previously resorted to burning tyres and erecting barricades in protest while police often respond with teargas and rubber bullets.

Pre-paid water meters were declared illegal in the United Kingdom under the U.K. Water Act of 1998, after water cut-offs were linked to increased cases of dysentery and other diseases related to shortages of clean water.

Major companies such as CONLOG, Meinecke and British firm Atlantic Meters market the meters, especially to governments and private companies in the developing world.

The major companies have recently signed new contracts in Namibia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Brazil, Swaziland and Curacao.

Excerpt: