Fiji Women's Rights Movement Protests

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Fiji Women's Rights Movement Protests Over 'Illegal Pushing' Of Water Privatisation Bill
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SUVA (FWRM/Pacific Media Watch) - The Fiji Women's Rights Movement is deeply concerned by the illegal pushing through of the Water Authority of Fiji Bill - despite almost a year of community action against the privatisation of water.

"Water is a basic human right, and we are very worried about the commercialisation of this essential resource," said FWRM executive director Virisila Buadromo.

"We are appalled that water, as essential to life as air, will be treated like a business - especially in light of clear community concerns on the issue, dating back to July last year."

The movement had joined other NGOs, civil society groups and the Fiji Human Rights Commission in speaking out against the proposed commercialisation of water.

The groups were moved to speak out in July 2006, following the inclusion of five prominent private sector members in the nine-member charter preparation committee on water and sewage.

The committee, which decided the commercialised future of water and sanitation services in Fiji, did not include civil society or consumer representatives.

"Despite last year's assurances from the Public Enterprise Ministry that this was a reorganisation and not privatisation, it is clear that this is to be a commercial, profit-driven venture," Buadromo said.

"Globally, experience has shown that privatisation of water does not work. Privatisation, even partial privatisation, turns water from a public service into a commodity for profit," she said.

"This has serious consequences for the entire population, but for women in particular because they face added burdens of work when they cannot access clean piped water."

In Colombia and the Philippines, when privatised water services were suspended due to non-payment, women started using contaminated water, which put them at risk of serious illness.

They also spend long hours carrying water, in addition to not being able to cover food, health or education expenses, since they are using that money to pay for the water service.

The privatisation of water in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba resulted in "water wars" after poor people, who could not afford the hugely increased water bills, rioted in protest.

Eventually, the multinational company that had bought the city's water supply had to leave the country due to the civil unrest their profit-seeking had caused.

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