The Jakarta Post
Prodita Sabarini
Ruslan was dusty and dripping with sweat though he had gotten an early start to beat thesuffocating Jakarta sun.The 40-something man stooped over with his hands on his thighs to catch his breath when hearrived at his small house, finally able to stop pulling his cart, which he had loaded up with 20-liter jerricans full of water."Water is scarce nowadays," he said.Ruslan lives in slum neighborhood Kampung Kandang in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Theofficial map of Jakarta suggests it is unoccupied, but satellite photos show otherwise.While residents have managed to come to terms with shortages of just about everything else,no one can get by without water.Most houses in his neighborhood are not connected to the water system.Some people tried to build their own wells but, though the water was clear when drawn, itsoon turned a reddish-brown color. They have no other choice but to buy drinking water fromvendors.Spending an extra Rp 3,000 (less than US$1) does not mean much to the better-off, but forlow-wage earners it is a substantial sum.The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) 2006 Human Development Report,“Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis,” said people living in the slumsof Jakarta, Manila and Nairobi paid five to 10 times more for water per unit than those in highincomeareas of the same cities.For Rusland and his neighbors, the fact that they are squatting on state land does not help.According to Rhames Simanjuntak, a spokesman for one of the city's two water operators,Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ), delivering piped water to slum neighborhoods poses something of adilemma."We have to abide by the regulation on piped water distribution, which requires the homeowner to present a house or land ownership deed before we can supply their property."Rhamses said the city administration prohibited the water company from making anyconnection between the slums and the domestic water system because the land was stateproperty and not designated for housing."However, people living in the slums are constantly stealing water." He said the area whereRuslan lives was among the three districts -- Rawa Badak, Tugu Selatan, Kelapa Gading Barat-- where TPJ had reported the theft of utility services was widespread.A resident of Kampung Kandang, who asked not to be named, said fresh water had quicklybecome big business in the area."We don't have any lawful access to water, how can we do basic things like take a shower orgo to the toilet?" Ruslan said a few people in the area did have piped water within theirdwellings."Some of them sell their water to the others." He said he wished piped water could be broughtto everyone in the slum community."We're happy to pay monthly, rather than buying jerricans of water daily." Rhamses said 50percent of the water distributed by TPJ was not paid for, causing major revenue losses for thecompany.The company supplies 9,000 liters of water per second to areas of North and East Jakarta.He said illegal connections, theft and leakage were responsible for 30 percent of unbilled waterconsumption."The rest is due to malfunctioning distribution system controls like broken meters." Rhamsessaid the problem was not cut and dry."The city administration can be hypocritical and has on occasion issued identification cards toslum dwellers." Neighborhood unit head Bawono said the people living there were not illegalresidents. "I was sworn in by the district head." Bawono did, however, acknowledge the landwas not theirs. "It belongs to the government." A resident said he did not understand whypeople like him were denied access to clean water."After all, it's God's water."Copyright 2007 Financial Times Information
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