Halt privatization plan in water sector

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Employees (AUCPTRE) has charged Lagos State government to halt the privatisation plan in the water sector as the money allotted for the sector is being mismanaged.

Speaking at a press briefing on the state of public water supply in Lagos held at Ogba, Lagos, the State Secretary, AUCPTRE, Comrade Abiodun Bakare, lamented that Lagos residents now groan as a result of shortage of public water and almost no water in some places in the last three months.

Bakare, who spoke on “Why the water sector in Lagos continues to decline”, revealed that there have been disruptions in many areas such as Bariga, Lawanson, Ojodu, Ketu, Agege, Abule Egba, among others. His words: “The current situation is a deliberate strategy by the management of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) to make Lagos residents into believing that the only sustainable way to supply water to Lagos residents is to adopt the much discredited privatisation model of Public Private Partnership (PPP).”

He further said, “It is disheartening to state that this critical period when countries throughout the world are embracing remunipalisation, Lagos State is spear-heading privatisation.”

Lending credence to this, the Deputy Director, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Com. Olufemi Akinbode, said the water corporation in the state is enmeshed in corruption and mismanagement. “Adiyan stated that the work which is designed to produce 70 million gallons of water daily has been down for over three months now. Also, the much celebrated N800 million released by the Lagos State government for the rehabilitation of 48 mini and micro water works was diverted leaving the said water works in even worse state. As we speak, Iju Water Works has been closed since 11th January 2019,” said Akinbode.