Preliminary Comments on the  Draft National Water Resources Bill

Presented at the South West Zonal Consultation on the Draft National Water Resources Bill, Abeokuta, December 11-12, 2007

Presented by

Bread of Life Dev. Foundation

 

PART I: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND ENTITLEMENT TO USE OF WATER

 (1a) Bread of Life welcomes the recognition of the right to water in line with General comment 15 of the UN Convention of Social, Cultural and Economic rights. But the provision of the right in the draft is rather vague. This provision should clearly state the specific volumetric minimum quantity of clean and safe water citizens have a right to access daily. This is in line with International standards and provisions in some national legislation.

 

  • (1L) The 2006 UNDP Human Development Index report categorically stated that the national governments should take up the primary responsibility to deliver water services to the people, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where the MDG water and sanitation target may not be achieved till the year 2007 at present levels of service delivery.

 

The Draft National Water Resources Bills seeks to decrease Government role in water services delivery and hand over this to the private sector through the promotion of Public-Private partnerships. We are alarmed by this development, particularly when experiments with such PPPs have ended in water fiascos in several countries in Africa and worldwide. More so, there are many models of reforming Public water utilities to ensure improved delivery of services. This has been successfully practiced throughout the word including in Uganda. In any case citizen’s right access to water services can only be guaranteed through Public water services delivery rather than handling the water sector to Private sector.

Bread of Life believes that Government should not abdicate its responsibility in the water sector. It is possible for Public Water Utilities to deliver their services more efficiently if they are reformed through models of Public Utility Public Partnerships (PUPs)

  • The provisions of  Draft National Water Resources Bill should therefore promote the democratization of water management though Public Utility Partnerships (PUPs) rather than Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)  as the best model of efficient delivery of water services to the citizens.
  • All clauses stating that Government should promote Public-Private Partnerships for the delivery of water services, should be expunged and replaced with the promotion of ‘Public Utility Partnerships (PUPs)’

PART II: NATIONAL COUNCIL ON WATER RESOURCES

  • (6:1 and 6:2) The draft grants too much powers to the Chairperson of the National Council on Water Resources to determine its membership and representation. This power can be misused and abused.
  • The draft should clearly state the number of members of the National Council on Water Resources, and in the case of the civil society, the specific number representing this group. Guidelines should also be drawn to ensure that the representative of the civil society is drawn from groups with long standing work in the water and sanitation and environment sector.
  • (7:3) Whilst the draft bill provides that the membership of the National Council on Water Resources will be multi stakeholder, it limits the sectors where Secretariat staff of the Council could be drawn to either  the ‘civil service or the private sector’.

 

  • Bread of Life believes water is a global common, (the draft bill itself recognizes the Public trusteeship of water).As such the draft bill should provide that the Secretary (who heads the Secretariat) of the National Water Resources Council should be deployed from the Civil Service, and not any other sector; whilst staff could be recruited not only from trade union in the sector,  water consumer bodies, civil society, trade unions in the water sector, the private sector, and similar groups.

PART III: POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY RESPONSIBLE FOR WATER RESOURCES

Powers related to water supply and sanitation

  • (12:1) This section assumes that the Federal Government which presently has enormous resources as its disposal from budget appropriation and donor funds will completely hand over water services delivery to state governments as stipulated by the National Water Policy. This may not be the case for some time to come.
  • Noting that the WIMAG initiative may not be on stream soon, Bread of Life believes the primary supervisory function of the Minister should ensuring prudent allocation of financial resources for efficient delivery of water services by Government water agencies.
  •  Bread of Life believes the Minister could liaise and set guidelines for  private sector bodies interested in financing water supply schemes, but the Minister’s primary function should not be ‘encouraging Public Private partnerships’ as stated in this section, and (13:1p). Refers our earlier comment on the need to promote Public Utility Partnerships rather than Public Private Partnerships. The Federal Minister should not be turned into an advocate of Water privatization.

State responsibility for water services

(45) This states that: The State Governments are responsible for the regulation and provision of water supply and sanitation services (in urban areas, and small towns) in accordance with the principles set out in this Act and the establishment of organizations for such purposes.

  • The reality is also that most Rural Water supply schemes are being managed by the State Government, so it may also be appropriate to give state government roles in Rural water Supply

Responsibilities of Local Government

(46) Most Local Government do not have the technical and financial capacity to establish , and maintain rural water supply schemes.

  • They should be a provision that charges Federal and State water agencies to empower local governments with knowledge, tools and resources for the delivery of rural water services.