Dear all,

Find below an advocacy document against the on going privatization of water and sewage services in Lagos, Nigeria. Kindly circulate among members of your network and other relevant publics. We request groups supporting this anti water privatization campaign to endorse this declaration, by appending their names, and addresses at the spaces provided below.

Kindly copy all endorsements to blfnigeria@yahoo.com

Regards

BABATOPE BABALOBI
The Bread of Life Development Foundation/WaterWatch Box 14055, Ikeja,
Lagos, Nigeria


DECLARATION AGAINST LAGOS WATER PRIVATISATION

We the undersigned individuals representing various organizations under listed below, having critically examined the on going plan by the Lagos State Government, Nigeria with the support of the World Bank, to privatize the delivery of Water and sewage services to the 14m people of the State; and Noting that:

1. The on going privatisation process of the Lagos State Water Corporation is not inclusive, open, transparent, and participatory. So far, the Lagos state Government has vigorously pursued the policy without any consultation, discussion, or approval by grassroots organizations that represent the peoples of the state, including water users and consumers, workers, women and children groups, farmers, fishermen and women, labour and trade groups, civil society groups, and private firms.

2. The 'Lagos model' of Private Sector Participation (PSP) in the delivery of water and sewage services, seeks to relinquish all control over water resources to the private sector through commercialization, privatization, and commodification of water.

3. No Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted on the civil works planned under the privatization exercise. The privatisation process therefore constitutes a threat to diversity of water ecosystems and Lagosians who rely on them, and will lead to ecological devastation.

Hereby affirm that:

1. Access to safe water is a universally a basic human right and is essential to human life. The peoples of Lagos state must control water, as a public trust and an inalienable human right.

2. The National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Nigeria states that the national policy is to guarantee free access for the poor for the "basic human need" level of water supply and sanitation.

3. The Lagos State Governments, as primary duty bearer, must take concrete steps to respect, protect and fulfill Lagosians right to water and sewage services.

4. Furthermore, projects intended to develop water resources in the state, must be based on respect for the rights of all Lagosians, and must provide full and meaningful participation in decision-making.

5. Water is social and cultural good and should not be treated as a commodity governed by the rules of market. Any pricing scheme introduced to manage water resources must allow the poor to satisfy their basic needs.

6. Water privatization all over the world, including in African countries like Ghana, and South Africa, has been shown to decrease access to clean and affordable water and discriminate against poor and under-represented communities who cannot pay "market prices" for water.

We demand that:

That privatization cease to be used as a condition on international lending to finance the development of water and sewage resources in the State; and

We resolve to:

Mobilize members of our organizations to advocate against the on going privatisation of the delivery of water and sewage services in Lagos State, Nigeria. As part of this campaign, we support the organization of a "Human chain against Water Privatisation' on March 22, 2005, in Lagos.

Signed:


NAME ORGANISATION EMAIL

For further details of this campaign, contact:

The Bread of Life Development Foundation/WaterWatch Box 14055, Ikeja,
Lagos
+234-14759088, +234-17942833, +24-8035897435
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waterwatch_nigeria
www.blf.kabissa.org
blfnigeria@yahoo.com

Contact person: BABATOPE BABALOBI
Executive Director, The Bread of Life Dev. Foundation
www.blf.kabissa.org
+234-17942833