Friday Follow UpWater WorksOr maybe it doesn't.
On
Tuesday, I had a go at Thames Water, known here as PT Thames PAM Jaya, for its failure, in partnership with the French company PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), to deliver an adequate water supply to its Jakarta customers.
Today, in the Jakarta Post, you can read the following:
The Head of City Council Commission D overseeing infrastructure, Sayogo Hendrosubroto, yesterday lambasted the decision of French water company PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) to sell 49 percent of its shares. Councillors called Palyja's actions "robbery" as 95 percent of the company's shares were originally given to it by PAM Jaya in 1996.
"Palyja, exploiting the loopholes in the 25-year cooperation contract (with the city), sold 49 percent of its city-granted stakes to local partner PT Astratel Nusantara and Citigroup Financial Products Inc.," Sayogo said.
The proceeds from the sale went to Palyja owner Suez Environment and
Palyja has repeatedly said that the sale will improve the company's management performance by involving local partners in Palyja's operation.
However, Sayogo said Suez Environment was only looking to make money, because the funds were not going to be reinvested to improve Palyja's performance.
Palyja has lost customers and many of those who remain have complained to the People's Coalition for the Right to Water of poor service standards.
Sayogo also said the local partners who bought the shares had no experience in water supplying because "their core businesses are not in the water sector."
PT Astratel Nusantara is a telecommunications company -
Communication Services Within The Country Or Overseas In The Form Of Communication By Voice, Picture, Data Or Other News Though Wireless, Radio Communications, Electronic Media, Or Satelite, Like : Telephone, Telegraph, Telex (Facsimile) And Lease Channel - and following the recent south Java tsunami we know how piss poor telecommunications are in this country.
And Citigroup Financial Products Inc. is presumably what it says.
Palyja president director Thierry Krieg ... did not disclose the amount of money Suez received in the deal. Sayogo said he believed the deal was worth between Rp 350 billion and Rp 500 billion (c.US$39 - 55 million).
Palyja's total investment from 1998 through to the first semester of 2006 was Rp 910 billion, 67 percent of its planned investment of Rp 1.364 trillion. The investments were for building renovations, production facility rehabilitation, pipe networks, meters and support work.
Palyja spokesperson Ratna Indrayani said Palyja faced challenges in supplying water to customers due to pipe leaks. In 2005, about 35 million liters of water was lost due to leaks.
Ratna also said the company had faced electricity supply problems and the theft of water in illegal semi-permanent residential areas. Sayogo said that Palyja needed to invest more money to fix the pipes and networks.
He also asked Thames Jaya to postpone its plan to sell 100 percent of their shares.
As I said,
the water companies profit while the world faces increased desertification.
|
