Are the debates on water privatization missing the point? Experiences from Africa, Asia and Latin America
This paper has two principal aims: first, to unravel some of the arguments mobilized in the controversial privatization debate, and second, to review the scale and nature of private sector provision of water and sanitation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Despite being vigorously promoted in the p...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Environment and urbanization 2003-10, Vol.15 (2), p.87-114 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | This paper has two principal aims: first, to unravel some of the arguments mobilized
in the controversial privatization debate, and second, to review the scale and
nature of private sector provision of water and sanitation in Africa, Asia and Latin
America. Despite being vigorously promoted in the policy arena and having been
implemented in several countries in the South in the 1990s, privatization has
achieved neither the scale nor benefits anticipated. In particular, the paper is
pessimistic about the role that privatization can play in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals of halving the number of people without access to water and
sanitation by 2015. This is not because of some inherent contradiction between
private profits and the public good, but because neither publicly nor privately
operated utilities are well suited to serving the majority of low-income households
with inadequate water and sanitation, and because many of the barriers to service
provision in poor settlements can persist whether water and sanitation utilities are
publicly or privately operated. This is not to say that well-governed localities
should not choose to involve private companies in water and sanitation provision,
but it does imply that there is no justification for international agencies and
agreements to actively promote greater private sector participation on the grounds
that it can significantly reduce deficiencies in water and sanitation services in
the South. |
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ISSN: | 0956-2478 1746-0301 |
DOI: | 10.1177/095624780301500222 |