Alleging Covert Water Privatization, LBH Asks DKI to Stop Cooperation between PAM Jaya and PT Moya

DOCK/PAM Jaya and PT Moya Indonesia have collaborated witnessed by the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) regrets the new collaboration between BUMD PAM Jaya and PT Moya Indonesia regarding the implementation of a drinking water supply system through optimizing existing assets and providing new assets with a bundling financing scheme.

The Director of LBH Jakarta, Arif Maulana, said that the policy carried out by Anies Baswedan while still serving as Governor of DKI Jakarta had violated the Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia Number 85/PUU-XI/2013 concerning the Testing of Law Number 7 of 2004 concerning Water Resources.

In fact, previously Anies had emphasized that the government had stopped cooperation in clean water management or water privatization with private parties, namely PT Palyja and Aetra. This cooperation will also end in January 2023. However, Anies has re-established cooperation with the private sector.

"It is ironic that Anies Baswedan at the end of his term of office made a humiliating step by licking his own saliva, breaking his promise. He stated that he would stop the privatization of water in Jakarta. But instead, he continued the practice of covert water privatization", Arif said in his statement, Tuesday, October 18.

Arif assessed that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and PDAM did not learn from the mistakes of Jakarta's water privatization which resulted in the state losing the state's right to control water resources for the people's prosperity, and losing control over water management for the people's prosperity.

"In fact, after the completion of the concession with Palyja and Aetra, PAM Jaya can independently carry out the constitutional mandate for water management including water production independently", explained Arif.

Therefore, Arif urged the DKI Provincial Government, in this case, the Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono, to cancel the cooperation in drinking water management with PT Moya Indonesia, and asked the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) to handle the case.

"LBH Jakarta urges the central government, DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, DKI Jakarta Governor, and PDAM to cancel the MoU on the management of the drinking water system management with PT Moya Indonesia, which is a practice of privatization and commercialization of water, disguised by immediately canceling DKI Governor Regulation 7/2022. Asking the DKI Jakarta DPRD not to just be silent about the unconstitutional practice of privatizing Jakarta", he said.

Previously, the President Director of PAM Jaya, Arief Nasrudin, emphasized that the current collaboration was very different from the cooperation carried out with the two previous partners, namely Palyja and Aetra from 1998 until the end of this year.

In the previous agreement, partners carried out management from upstream to downstream. Meanwhile, this time the cooperation is only carried out in the production department.

"The distribution and customer service are entirely carried out by PAM Jaya. This collaboration is generally carried out by drinking water companies in Indonesia. With the addition of water supply and services provided by PAM JAYA, it is hoped that it can improve services for Jakarta residents", said Arief at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Friday, October 14.

Arief said, in this cooperation agreement, PAM Jaya has the right to terminate cooperation with its partners. Then, the selection process for cooperation partners is also carried out strictly.

"So, our cooperation is based on good corporate governance, with the principle of prudence. In fact, PAM JAYA cooperates with BPKP and the DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office to assist in the selection process for cooperation partners", he said.