Most tap-water companies in `bad shape'

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam | Sat, 12/05/2009 1:40 PM

The majority of tap-water companies (PDAM) across Indonesia are managed poorly due to political moves made by regional administrations, says an executive.

Saiful, new chairman of the Indonesian Tap-Water Companies' association (Perpamsi), said that of 355 PDAMs across the country, only 25 percent were in a good condition both in term of finance and management, while the remaining 75 percent were in bad shape.

"The quality of human resources, financial deficit, high level of pipeline leakages and political attitudes from regional administration heads have been blamed for the *PDMs'* conditions," said Saiful, who had just been elected as chairman of Perpamsi for the 2009-2013 term, on Thursday, during the organization's meeting in Batam, Riau Islands province.

Among the political maneuvers blamed for the conditions, according to Saiful, were the appointments of PDAM's employees that were based more on nepotism rather than competence.

"Rates are also something that is often *played with' by heads of regional administrations, especially during the campaign period. As a result, PDAMs cannot decide their own rates according to their calculations," said Saiful who is also president director of PDAM Tirta Musi in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Saiful said the combined debt of all PDAMs across the country, which mostly operate in provincial and regency/municipal capitals, totalled Rp 6 trillion.

"In a bid to help rectify the situation we will conduct some programs including improving the quality of our staff through training and conducting fit-and-proper tests on candidates for PDAM executive positions," he said.

Separately, Perpamsi vice chairman Sunarto Mokodompit, who is also president director of PDAM Bolaang Mongondow, said political pressure from the regency head made it difficult to restructure human resources in his company.

"The Regent often called me to accept this person or that person as an employee at my office. I can't refuse, if I do I'll probably end up losing my job," he said.

A similar scenario was expressed by Ricky Pontoh, president director of PDAM North Minahasa. He said most of the PDAMs set up in new regencies in his region were being run by staff with no experience in clean water management.

"The conditions of the PDAMs in those areas, which were previously under our management, are really concerning at the moment," he said.

Saiful also said that with regard to the present conditions, Indonesia would not meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of increasing access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities by 2015.

The MDG has set a target of sustainable access to clean water for 80 percent of the urban populations and 60 percent of the rural residents by 2015.

Currently, he said, it was almost certain that the target would not be achieved. Only 40 percent of the urban population and less than 30 percent of the rural population had sustainable access to clean water, he added.

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla said that between 2008 and 2013, 10 million households would be provided with clean water installations. Currently 7.1 million installations have been delivered. "It's even difficult to meet the former vice president's target," Saiful said.