[stop-imf] stop water privatization in Ghana

[Robert Weissman]

Sign on to the letters below to the IMF, the World Bank and the President
of Ghana by sending your name and organizational affiliation to
waterforall@igc.org. Please do NOT reply to sender. Thanks!

>> WATER IS NOT A COMMODITY!
>> WATER IS LIFE AND LIFE IS FOR ALL!
>>
>> Dear Sisters and Brothers around the World:
>>
>> We call upon organizations and individuals around the world to
>> express their international solidarity with the struggle of the
>> Ghanaian people to stop the privatisation of the Accra-Tema water
>> service.  Please sign-on to the letters below to the IMF, the World
>> Bank and President Kufuor. World Bank and International Monetary
>> Fund (IMF) policies require the Government of Ghana to increase
>> water tariffs (consumer fees for water) and privatise water in order
>> to gain access to external assistance and soft loans.  Five
>> multinational corporations have bid for the Accra-Tema water
>> service, most of them with annual sales income larger than the GDP
>> of Ghana, and some of them with questionable social and
>> environmental records.
>>
>> The Christian Council of Ghana, The Trade Union Congress, the Ghana
>> National Association of Teachers, the Ghana Registered Nurses
>> Association, the Convention People's Party and many other groups in
>> Ghana have joined to stop the water privatization.  Express your
>> solidarity!  Show your support for the struggle to stop the
>> world-wide attempt to commodify water for the profit and benefit of
>> a few.  Sign on to the letters below to the IMF, the World Bank and
>> the President of Ghana by sending your name and organizational
>> affiliation to waterforall@igc.org
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Ghana National Coalition Against Privatisation of Water
>>
>>
>> LETTER 1
>> To:  Mr. Callisto Madavo
>>  Africa Region Vice President
>>  World Bank
>>
>> Mr. Peter Harrold,
>>  Country Director for Ghana
>>  World Bank
>>
>> We, the undersigned citizen=92s organizations from around the world,
>> support the right of the citizen=92s of Ghana to participate in public
>> debate, discussion and decision-making about whether the proposed
>> leasing of the Accra-Tema water system to private transnational
>> corporations (privatisation or private sector participation) is the
>> best way to promote accessible and affordable water and to ensure
>> public health, social equity and environmental sustainability.
>>
>> There is widespread international concern about privatisation and
>> cost recovery policies that treat water primarily as a commodity, or
>> an economic good, to be bought and sold in the marketplace.  There
>> is concern that such policies increase the obstacles to clean and
>> affordable water to which every person, rich or poor, man or woman,
>> child or adult, is entitled.  Clean water is essential to human life
>> and a natural resource that should be held as a public trust for the
>> common good of our societies and the environment.
>>
>> We call upon the World Bank, in order to promote safe and affordable
>> water for all people, and to support sovereign, democratic and
>> participatory decision-making processes, to undertake the following:
>>
>> =B7 Remove water privatization (leasing the Accra-Tema water system to
>> private transnational corporations) as a condition for access to
>> World Bank loans.  We believe that it is inappropriate for the World
>> Bank to impose water privatization as a condition for access to
>> loans, debt relief, or other creditor or donor resources.  World
>> Bank conditionality should not intervene in the national debate and
>> decision- making process.  By imposing water privatization as a
>> condition for access to Bank resources, there is a risk that the
>> pressure on the government will reduce accountability to the
>> concerns and viewpoints of citizens.
>>
>> =B7 Remove increases in water fees (for low-income and marginalized
>> populations that will be less able to afford safe water) as a
>> condition for access to World Bank loans.  Increased water fees can
>> impact negatively upon access to safe and affordable water for
>> low-income groups.  Public subsidies, a guaranteed water lifeline,
>> progressive tariff structures, cross-sectoral subsidies, and
>> expanded access to potable water are critical to ensuring public
>> health, social equity, and environmental sustainability.
>>
>>  =B7 Support the call to stop the =93fast track=94 toward water
>> privatisation.   The citizen=92s of Ghana deserve the opportunity to
>> publicly discuss and debate a wide variety of water management
>> options.  Citizens have a right to effectively participate in the
>> shaping of national policies that fundamentally affect their lives
>> such as the control and management of water.  Support for the =93fast
>> track=94 toward water privatisation should be stopped until a broad
>> and participatory process of debate, discussion and consultation
>> takes place.
>>
>> Support i=B7nformation disclosure to the public.  Currently there are
>> five multinational corporations bidding to lease the urban water
>> service in the Accra metropolitan area.  Information about the terms
>> and conditions of the privatization, such as the proposed tariff
>> structure, expansion plans, connection fees, and possible subsidies
>> should be made available to the public for open debate and
>> discussion.
>>
>> =B7 Support measures to discourage corruption in international
>> business. Support measures that will automatically exclude companies
>> whose business practices have been known to exert corrupting
>> influences on public officials anywhere in the world from
>> participating in any bids.
>>
>>  We hope that you will be able to respond promptly and affirmatively
>> to these concerns.  The World Bank has publicly committed itself to
>> making poverty reduction central and to promoting genuine national
>> ownership of policies.  This requires, among other things,
>> supporting genuine processes of national debate, discussion, and
>> citizen participation in policy decision-making, even when the
>> policy choices being discussed may not be in consonance with World
>> Bank opinion.
>>
>>  Sincerely,
>>
>>
>>
>>  Cc:  Mr. James Wolfensohn
>>          President, World Bank
>>
>>  LETTER 2
>>  His Excellency Mr. J.A. Kufuor
>>  President of the Republic of Ghana,
>>  The Castle, Osu
>>  Accra
>>
>>  Dear President Kufuor,
>>
>>  We, the undersigned citizen=92s organizations from around the world,
>> support the right of citizen=92s of Ghana to participate in public
>> debate, discussion and decision-making about whether the proposed
>> leasing of the Accra-Tema water system to private transnational
>> corporations (privatisation or private sector participation) is the
>> best way to promote accessible and affordable water and to ensure
>> public health, social equity and environmental sustainability.
>>
>>  There is widespread international concern about privatisation and
>> cost recovery policies that treat water primarily as a commodity, or
>> an economic good, to be bought and sold in the marketplace.  There
>> is concern that such policies increase the obstacles to clean and
>> affordable water to which every person, rich or poor, man or woman,
>> child or adult, is entitled.  Clean water is essential to human life
>> and a natural resource that should be held as a public trust for the
>> common good of our societies and the environment.
>>
>>  We call upon you to support transparent discussion and debate, and
>> participatory decision making processes regarding the management of
>> water, by implementing the proposals below:
>>
>> =B7 Stop the =93fast track=94 toward water privatisation.   The citizen=
=92s
>> of Ghana deserve the opportunity to publicly discuss and debate a
>> wide variety of water management options.  Citizens have a right to
>> effectively participate in the shaping of national policies that
>> fundamentally affect their lives such as the control and management
>> of water.  The =93fast track=94 toward water privatisation should be
>> stopped until a broad and participatory process of debate,
>> discussion and consultation takes place.
>>
>> =B7 Disclose information to the public.  Currently there are five
>> multinational corporations bidding to lease the urban water service
>> in the Accra metropolitan area.  Information about the terms and
>> conditions of the privatisation, such as the proposed tariff
>> structure, expansion plans, possible subsidies, and structures for
>> accountability should be made available to the public for open
>> debate and discussion.
>>
>> =B7 Support measures to discourage corruption in international
>> business transactions.   Develop measures to automatically exclude
>> companies whose business practices have been known to exert
>> corrupting influences on public officials anywhere in the world from
>> participating in any bids.
>>
>> We hope that you will be able to respond promptly and affirmatively
>> to these concerns.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> LETTER 3
>> To:   Mr. G.E. Gondwe
>>  Director, Africa Department
>>  International Monetary Fund
>>  Washington, D.C.
>>
>>  Mr. Hugh Bredenkamp
>>  West Africa Region
>>  International Monetary Fund
>>  Washington, DC
>>
>> We, the undersigned citizen=92s organizations from around the world,
>> support the right of the citizen=92s of Ghana to participate in public
>> debate, discussion and decision-making about whether the proposed
>> leasing of the Accra-Tema water system to private transnational
>> corporations (privatisation or private sector participation) is the
>> best way to promote accessible and affordable water and to ensure
>> public health, social equity and environmental sustainability.
>>
>> There is widespread international concern about IMF policy
>> conditions that impose full cost recovery as a step toward the
>> privatization of public water utilities.  There is concern that
>> policies such as full cost recovery can increase the cost of water
>> for low-income and marginalized populations.  Clean water is
>> essential to human life and a natural resource that should be held
>> as a public trust for the common good of our societies and the
>> environment.
>>
>> We call upon the International Monetary Fund, in order to promote
>> safe and affordable water for all people, and to support sovereign,
>> democratic and participatory decision-making processes, to undertake
>> the following:
>>
>> =B7 Remove increased cost recovery (for low-income and marginalized
>> populations that will be less able to afford safe water) as a
>> condition for access to International Monetary Fund loans. The third
>> review for Ghana=92s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility loan
>> includes conditions promoting full cost recovery in the public
>> utilities and automatic tariff adjustment formula.  Increased water
>> fees can impact negatively upon access to safe and affordable water
>> for low-income groups.  Public subsidies, a guaranteed water
>> lifeline, progressive tariff structures, cross-sectoral subsidies,
>> and expanded access to potable water are critical to ensuring public
>> health, social equity, and environmental sustainability.
>>
>> =B7 Support the call to stop the =93fast track=94 toward water
>> privatisation.   The citizen=92s of Ghana deserve the opportunity to
>> publicly discuss and debate a wide variety of water management
>> options.  Citizens have a right to effectively participate in the
>> shaping of national policies that fundamentally affect their lives
>> such as the control and management of water.  Support for the =93fast
>> track=94 toward water privatisation should be stopped until a broad
>> and participatory process of debate, discussion and consultation
>> takes place.
>>
>> We hope that you will be able to respond promptly and affirmatively
>> to these concerns.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
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