WAFED STRONGLY OPPOSES ADB TRICKS TO TRAP NEPAL INTO ITS
WATER PRIVATIONSATION CONSPIRACY


8 February 2008, Kathmandu, Nepal

Water and Energy Users' Federation – Nepal (WAFED) strongly opposes the
most recent instance of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) duplicity in
the continuing saga of forcing Nepal into its trap of privatising
Kathmandu Valley water supply and its management, an objective it has been
pursuing single-mindedly for the last many years. A press release issued
by the ADB in Manila today maintained that a new private sector manager
will be recruited parallel to the construction of the 26 kilometer long
Melamchi River diversion tunnel to Kathmandu. It has also reaffirmed its
misconceived claim that Melamchi Water Supply Project is the only
available option for Kathmandu as the existing alternative water sources
such as shallow wells, public taps, rainwater, tankers, or bottled water
are expensive.

Earlier, the WAFED-led campaign in co-operation with the London-based
World Development Movement against the award of the management contract to
Severn Trent Water International had forced the British multinational
company to withdraw from Kathmandu's water supply and management. Since
then the civic campaign has been focusing on the need for the reform of
the existing public utility, the Nepal Water Supply Corporation, with
adequate financial support and autonomy. Unfortunately anti-public vested
interests such as the World Bank and ADB, with mala fide agendas that
include the promotion of dubious private players with crooked antecedents,
have had, in collaboration with various domestic swindlers, thwarted every
attempt to reform this public utility.

WAFED emphasizes that ADB's scheme to foist a private management on
Kathmandu's water supply system is mischievous in intent, imprudent in
conception, irresponsible in design, expensive in operation and
inefficient in outcome. As with many other similar ill-conceived schemes
implemented in haste across the world, the Kathmandu water privatisation
scheme will inevitably encounter public hostility. It may be recalled that
the ADB has a poor track record with regard to water management reforms,
the most infamous instance being the mess that resulted from the
privatisation of water management in its own backyard, Manila.

WAFED maintains that the best available option for Kathmandu is to plug
and control the leakage in the city's water supply system, which according
to some estimates accounts for 70 percent of wastage. In addition there
are huge untapped potential sources of water in the Valley, such as
regulated ground water use, rain water harvesting, spring water and public
taps which are cheaper alternatives that are also easier and quicker to
implement.

Therefore, WAFED would like to ask the ADB as well as the Seven-Party
transitional government of Nepal to refrain from the privatisation of
Kathmandu water supply system, reconsider the economic and technical
viability of the Melamchi project and support the leakage control package
together with the implementation of all locally available water supply
alternatives as listed above.

WAFED calls on all Nepali campaign groups, both active in Melamchi and
Kathmandu valleys, as well as international friends and networks to
continue with their struggle against the privatisation of Kathmandu Valley
water supply and put pressure on the ADB to respect the alternative
proposals from the government of Nepal instead of adhering dogmatically to
their anti-public lending conditionalities, particularly those pertaining
to private sector management.

It is important to note that the Interim Constitution of Nepal has
recognised water as a human right under the fundamental right to health,
thus the privatisation of water services will be a brazen violation of
this right.

For further updates and details, please visit our website www.wafed-nepal.org

Contact: Ratan Bhandari, Campaign Coordinator