Comments on: World Development Movement admits sorry state of nationalised water http://www.alexsingleton.co.uk/2005/09/world-development-movement-admits-sorry-state-of-nationalised-water/ Journalist and political commentator Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:22:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Risto F. Harma http://www.alexsingleton.co.uk/2005/09/world-development-movement-admits-sorry-state-of-nationalised-water/comment-page-1/#comment-135 Risto F. Harma Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:17:10 +0000 http://www.alexsingleton.co.uk/2005/09/world-development-movement-admits-sorry-state-of-nationalised-water/#comment-135 This article above about the World Development Movement's complete confusing, is a classic of western NGO muddle, and possibly, lack of professionalism or having properly trained advocacy staff. Go to any developing country that is suffering from a lack of essential services and you will see that poor people, who are the ones really suffer as a result, have to buy their water from private sources at high prices. Worse, when there is a real shortage on, richer people will buy up supplies sometimes meaning there is not water at all at any price for poor people. Hence enter a privatised system: while not ideal for poor people, if they are forced to pay for the new privatised system they are at least probably getting it cheaper than they did before from the individual water sellers, plus with more realiability. That has to be a significant improvement. I challenge anyone at World Development Movement to say otherwise: use of a little imagination is in order, e.g. when it is approaching 50 degrees C, when people are dying from the heat, more cheaper water has to be better than less expensive and irratic water? I suggest the World Development Movement advocacy staff go to New Delhi and take up residence in a slum, and see how it feels at 50 C with dodgy water. In fact I know a lady in slum who can help them with this "research". WDM: whatever happens: for God sake get your research right, and stop misleading the western public. Risto F. Harma NGO worker and researcher, India and Nigeria country experience This article above about the World Development Movement’s complete confusing, is a classic of western NGO muddle, and possibly, lack of professionalism or having properly trained advocacy staff. Go to any developing country that is suffering from a lack of essential services and you will see that poor people, who are the ones really suffer as a result, have to buy their water from private sources at high prices. Worse, when there is a real shortage on, richer people will buy up supplies sometimes meaning there is not water at all at any price for poor people. Hence enter a privatised system: while not ideal for poor people, if they are forced to pay for the new privatised system they are at least probably getting it cheaper than they did before from the individual water sellers, plus with more realiability. That has to be a significant improvement. I challenge anyone at World Development Movement to say otherwise: use of a little imagination is in order, e.g. when it is approaching 50 degrees C, when people are dying from the heat, more cheaper water has to be better than less expensive and irratic water? I suggest the World Development Movement advocacy staff go to New Delhi and take up residence in a slum, and see how it feels at 50 C with dodgy water. In fact I know a lady in slum who can help them with this “research”. WDM: whatever happens: for God sake get your research right, and stop misleading the western public.

Risto F. Harma
NGO worker and researcher, India and Nigeria country experience

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