Water privatisation and the new apartheid

"I know that in many villages farmers have stopped using the system and the water points have dried up, and people have gone back to the traditional sources of water, like streams and waterholes. "In many instances where water services are cut and pipelines have been closed, "the policy of cost-recovery artificially creates the conditions of drought," said Namibian researcher, Jade McClune."This further contributes to impoverishment of the rural population and encourages their steady urbanisation ... and in turn places added pressure on the water resources of the urban centres," he noted in his report, 'Water Privatisation in Namibia - creating a new apartheid?' for Namibia's Labour Resource and Research Institute."

Meanwhile, Lebanon moves steadily into its water privatisation program, promoted by USAID and the World Bank. The program is housed into the Ministry of Electricity and Water, under Hizbullah Minister Mohammad Fneish. My sources tell me thet the World Bank was " highly impressed" with the level of commitment and enthousiasm of the Hizbullah minister to privatisation.

Way to go.