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Indonesia: Undelivered Promises from Water Corporations Impact Women in Jakarta

by Nila Ardhianie, Indonesian Forum on Globalization

In 1998, PAM Jaya, Jakarta’s state owned water company, signed an agreement with two foreign private companies. Under this contract Thames Water from England is responsible for water service in the eastern part of Jakarta and Suez from France is responsible for water in the western part of Jakarta. At first, the cooperation was meant to improve water supply services in Jakarta under the Built, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) principle. But it turns out that the BOT cooperation was somehow changed into a 25-year concession agreement.

In 1997, a short time before the agreement, PAM Jaya was able to provide water supply service to 428,764 consumers. This means 43 percent of Jakarta’s population had already connected to water supply chains. In the agreement contract, Thames Water promised to make new connections that will cover up to 75 percent of eastern Jakarta population within their first five years operations. But eventually, today they only cover 53 percent of eastern Jakarta’s population.

For many people living in Jakarta, a reliable supply of clean water is still something to dream of. Those who do not have access to PAM Jaya connection (either because the connections do not reach their homes or because they cannot afford it) constructed their own wells and use water pumps to harvest the ground water. Others have to buy water from local vendors with the price of Rp 1,500 to Rp 2,000 per container (about 1 gallon) to supply their daily needs.

Still others, like those living in Kramat Sentiong, have to use public toilets to provide for their water needs. These people pay Rp 500 to Rp 1,000 for one bath only. With a simple calculation, a person will need at the minimum Rp 30,000 per month to bath each day. Imagine how much a family with five members will spend on bathing, every month. Water for drinking and cooking is still excluded! With an average income of approximately Rp 500,000 a month, each family will have to set aside at least 30 percent of their income for water. A recent study on water shows even further details indicating that the less income a family has, the more likely it will be to set aside a substantial portion of its money for water; for some families the percentage of available income used on water can reach up to 40 percent.

Since the husbands go to work in the morning, they are the first to take a bath. The second turn goes to children who go to school, and the last turn is for the wives. If the wife does not work, she will do household chores after the other members part. The chores also include washing and doing the dishes. To do all this, once again she will need water. Some women decide to do the washing in (or near to) the public toilets, while others have to carry buckets of water to their homes. 

Diseases like diarrhea are not often encountered, because people have learned that they need to always boil their drinking water. Even if it does happen, drugs are available in stores. Water-borne diseases occur more frequently in the rainy season and when the flood comes. Although hid from the public, skin diseases are seen quite frequently, particularly among children.

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