Striking A Balance On Water Access

THIS letter in response to the article entitled ‘Rights group hits at prepaid water plan’ as published in The Namibian of 4 April 2006, with the aim to add additional arguments to the debate regarding payment for water.

When judging the water-supply industry in Namibia, it is important to realise that the charging of money for water supplied is not about making money from a “water business”. It is all about making it possible to bring safe drinking water to people at their places of residence and work.It costs money to install pumps, pipelines reservoirs, treatment systems and other components that are necessary convey, treat, store, distribute, manage and maintain the water supply system.Where must this money come from, if not from the users? Furthermore, water is a very scarce commodity in Namibia and there must be measures in place to ensure its conservation and judicial use.How else is it done than to meter water and let the users take responsibility for the supply of such water by paying for it? In most, if not all places where there are the free water outlets, they are subject to misuse and high wastage.Many therefore argue that free water will eventually result in no clean water at all.So how do we go about giving poor people who have too little money to pay for water access to this life-sustaining commodity? This is certainly not accomplished by supplying water free of charge to owners of large cattle herds.It is also not accomplished by supplying water free of charge to people that has money to buy all kinds of other commodities, yet claim that they do not have money for their most needed commodity that generally cost less than 1 cent per litre.It is also not achieved by making the supply of water entirely a social function of central government.One strategy of addressing the dilemma of the really poor people is for them to register and receive a special status in terms of which they would either be afforded the means to obtain a specified amount of water in a controlled manner.Another is to simply give a designated amount of free water to all people, as is done in South Africa.Both methods, however, require that water outlets are metered and properly managed, whether by means of conventional metering or prepayment metering.Problems with some prepayment systems should not be seen as lying with the concept or principle of prepayment metering, but at the technology and management approach applied at some systems.In the said newspaper article, mention is made of some rural schemes that fall into disuse because of consumers reverting back to traditional means of obtaining water.This statement is made under the heading that suggest a condemnation of prepayment meters.In this article a case is also made that Government should be made responsible for water supply in the country in order to alleviate water affordability problems.However, these reportedly dysfunctional rural outlets are most likely not metered by means of prepayment meters and are in fact schemes that were established by central Government.It should also be pointed out that most of these schemes were built after extensive and inclusive consultation with the effected rural communities and after communities have themselves opted to have the systems installed; and have agreed to pay for the water in the agreed manner.The consultation processes normally included explanations as to why people has to pay for water and assessments regarding willingness and ability to pay.The resolution thereof certainly does not lie in resorting to unsustainable strategies.Due recognition must be given to resource economics and a workable balance be strike between responsible water utilisation and caring for the poor.Frikkie Becker WindhoekIt is all about making it possible to bring safe drinking water to people at their places of residence and work.It costs money to install pumps, pipelines reservoirs, treatment systems and other components that are necessary convey, treat, store, distribute, manage and maintain the water supply system.Where must this money come from, if not from the users? Furthermore, water is a very scarce commodity in Namibia and there must be measures in place to ensure its conservation and judicial use.How else is it done than to meter water and let the users take responsibility for the supply of such water by paying for it? In most, if not all places where there are the free water outlets, they are subject to misuse and high wastage.Many therefore argue that free water will eventually result in no clean water at all.So how do we go about giving poor people who have too little money to pay for water access to this life-sustaining commodity? This is certainly not accomplished by supplying water free of charge to owners of large cattle herds.It is also not accomplished by supplying water free of charge to people that has money to buy all kinds of other commodities, yet claim that they do not have money for their most needed commodity that generally cost less than 1 cent per litre.It is also not achieved by making the supply of water entirely a social function of central government.One strategy of addressing the dilemma of the really poor people is for them to register and receive a special status in terms of which they would either be afforded the means to obtain a specified amount of water in a controlled manner.Another is to simply give a designated amount of free water to all people, as is done in South Africa.Both methods, however, require that water outlets are metered and properly managed, whether by means of conventional metering or prepayment metering.Problems with some prepayment systems should not be seen as lying with the concept or principle of prepayment metering, but at the technology and management approach applied at some systems.In the said newspaper article, mention is made of some rural schemes that fall into disuse because of consumers reverting back to traditional means of obtaining water.This statement is made under the heading that suggest a condemnation of prepayment meters.In this article a case is also made that Government should be made responsible for water supply in the country in order to alleviate water affordability problems.However, these reportedly dysfunctional rural outlets are most likely not metered by means of prepayment meters and are in fact schemes that were established by central Government.It should also be pointed out that most of these schemes were built after extensive and inclusive consultation with the effected rural communities and after communities have themselves opted to have the systems installed; and have agreed to pay for the water in the agreed manner.The consultation processes normally included explanations as to why people has to pay for water and assessments regarding willingness and ability to pay.The resolution thereof certainly does not lie in resorting to unsustainable strategies.Due recognition must be given to resource economics and a workable balance be strike between responsible water utilisation and caring for the poor.Frikkie Becker Windhoek