[P2P-F] Fwd: [CommonGood] Foy: urgent action for water as commons in LagosFw: [aepf] Fwd: [waterjustice] Imminent threat in Lagos, Please show your support!

Fri Mar 3 18:41:11 CET 2017

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Birgit Daiber <bir.dai at hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 3:35 PM
Subject: [CommonGood] Foy: urgent action for water as commons in LagosFw:
[aepf] Fwd: [waterjustice] Imminent threat in Lagos, Please show your
support!
To: "commongood at listi.jpberlin.de" <commongood at listi.jpberlin.de>

*From:* aepf-request at lists.riseup.net <aepf-request at lists.riseup.net> on
behalf of willy <willyindia at gmail.com>
*Sent:* Friday, March 3, 2017 9:24 AM
*To:* AEPF e-group; APMDDMembers2010 at googlegroups.com
*Subject:* [aepf] Fwd: [waterjustice] Imminent threat in Lagos, Please show
your support!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shayda Naficy <snaficy at stopcorporateabuse.org>
Date: 3 March 2017 at 00:46
Subject: [waterjustice] Imminent threat in Lagos, Please show your support!
To: waterwarriors at fwwatch.org, Water Justice <waterjustice at tni.org>,
laredvida <laredvida at laredvida.org>

Dear friends and allies:

I am writing today to ask you to urgently add your organization's name to a
sign-on letter we are circulating in support of the Our Water Our Right
coalition in Lagos. As you may know, the Our Water Our Right coalition in
Lagos, Nigeria is standing against government plans for water privatization
and calling for adequate public investment to ensure the realization of the
human right to water in the city of 21 million.

We are asking you to stand with us today to oppose a bill that endangers
the human right to water and sanitation in Lagos by criminalizing informal
water access and promoting privatization.

Below is more information on the threat, and the sign-on letter to the
Governor of Lagos.

*Please add your organization name to the sign-on letter by emailing
ourwaterourright at stopcorporateabuse.org
<ourwaterourright at stopcorporateabuse.org> with your organization name and
country (if country specific). *

Also, as an individual, please sign this petition
<http://act.stopcorporateabuse.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=21205>
!

*New bill threatens human right to water in Lagos*

On February 20, the Lagos House of Assembly pushed through a bill that, if
signed into law by Governor Ambode, would dramatically limit Lagosians’
access to water and further facilitate privatization.

The Assembly has not released a final version of the legislation, called, “A
Bill for a Law to Consolidate all Laws relating to the Environment for the
Management, Protection and Sustainable Development of the Environment in
Lagos State and for Connected Purposes.’”

A draft version of the bill included provisions that would threaten
people’s access to water by:

●     Criminalizing unauthorized distribution of water or taking water from
natural sources, by imposing 6 weeks’ imprisonment and/or a fine of over
five times the monthly minimum wage in Lagos.

●     Require licensing of boreholes, which about 58 percent of Lagosians
depend on for water.

Further, the bill would promote privatization by:

●     Requiring the state to prioritize payment for “contracted services
and concessions for long term infrastructure investments” above all other
budget items.

This bill was passed by the Lagos House of Assembly with minimal public
consultation and over public protest.  At the single public hearing on
February 9, civil society representatives spoke against and protested the
bill.  Most Lagosians did not even have time to consider this bill before
it was passed in this hurried manner -- consideration and passage of the
bill took place over a period of only two weeks, during a time at which the
Assembly would have normally been in recess.

*Threat of privatization*

At the same time, the Lagos State Water Corporation is trying to push
through a number of privatization contracts and other measures that
threaten the human right to water in Lagos.

These include:

●     A 25-year Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer concession for the Adiyan II
water treatment plant and distribution network.

●     A public-private partnership (PPP) related to a 100 mgd water
treatment plant, Odomola, for which no details have been released.

●     Two consulting contracts that would facilitate future privatization
by mapping assets and enumerating customers to increase revenues.

●     The planned installation of up to 16 thousand pre-paid water meters,
which threaten the human right to water of people unable to afford it.

These measures, if carried out, could place over half of Lagos’ water
production under private control, and would threaten low income peoples’
access to water.  Experience around the world has shown that water
privatization leads to increased costs, infrastructure neglect, labor
abuses, and erosion of democratic control.  In Lagos as elsewhere,
privatization is not the answer.

*Global concern *

On February 27, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe
drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller, raised serious concern about the
recent environment bill, saying, “When the State fails to provide adequate
access to drinking water, no one should be criminalized or fined for
fetching water from lakes, rivers, or any other natural sources.” According
to his statement, “Mr. Heller is urging the Government to reconsider the
Bill and to conduct a proper and meaningful public consultation with all
relevant stakeholders providing an adequate time for comments and
opinions.”

Just as Mr. Heller is speaking up for the right to water in Lagos, We ask
you to stand with the Our Water, Our Right coalition by asking Lagos
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to:

●     Do everything in his power to halt the implementation of the damaging
environment bill recently passed by the Assembly.

●     Withdraw current efforts to secure corporate concessions and
contracts in the water sector.

●     Commit to public funding of water and ensure a robust and accountable
democratic process for implementing any legislation relating to water and
sanitation.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with Lagos.  Together we can ensure a
future where all people can access the water they need to live healthy,
dignified lives.

Onward,

Akinbode Oluwafemi

Deputy Executive Director

Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria

Shayda Edwards Naficy

Senior Program Director

Corporate Accountability International

*Sign-On Letter Text*

Dear Governor Akinwunmi Ambode:

We are organizations around the world committed to ensuring the human right
to water is upheld and protected.  We recently read with concern a
statement from the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking
water and sanitation, Léo Heller, regarding an environmental bill recently
passed in Lagos.

We were alarmed to discover this bill criminalizes unauthorized water
abstraction and distribution, which a majority of Lagosians depend on to
meet their daily drinking, bathing and cooking needs.

We were equally alarmed to see that the bill prioritizes the payment of
private contract and concession expenses before any other government
expense, no matter how urgent. Having seen the unintended costs and harmful
consequences of private water contracts and concessions elsewhere in the
world, we are deeply concerned about the implications of this provision on
the human rights and well-being of the people of Lagos.

As such, we echo UN Special Rapporteur Heller’s plea to Lagos
lawmakers to “reconsider
the Bill and to conduct a proper and meaningful public consultation with
all relevant stakeholders providing an adequate time for comments and
opinions.”

In addition, we are deeply concerned to see the Lagos State Water
Corporation pursuing multiple concessions and other corporate contracts,
including a 25-year concession for the Adiyan II project and a public
private partnership (PPP) for the Odomola project.  Based on many of our
experiences in cities around the world, we know that PPPs and other
privatization contracts often bring unexpected costs for cities, raise
rates for consumers, and produce labor violations and infrastructure
neglect.

Given these concerns, we wish to express our profound hope that you will:

●     Do everything in your power to halt the implementation of the
damaging environment bill recently passed by the Assembly.

●     Withdraw current efforts to secure corporate concessions and
contracts in the water sector.

● Commit to public funding of water and ensure robust and accountable
democratic process for implementing any legislation relating to water and
sanitation.

In conclusion, we are eager to see your administration commit to ensuring
the human right to water through a democratic, public system.  Your
leadership on water will not only ensure all  Lagosians can access clean,
safe water -- it will also set an example for all of us around the world.

Sincerely,

cc:   Dr. Samuel Babatunde Adejare, Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State
Ministry of the Environment

Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of
Assembly

Hon. Dayo Saka Fafunmi, Chairman , House Committee on Environment, Lagos
State House of Assembly

-- 
--------

Shayda Edwards Naficy
Director International Water Campaign
Corporate Accountability International
10 Milk Street, Suite 610, Boston, MA 02108
Work Cell: 857-413-6258 <085741%2036258>
Main: 617-695-2525; Fax: 617-695-2626
snaficy at StopCorporateAbuse.org
www.StopCorporateAbuse.org <http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/>

*Donate today to challenge corporate abuse!
<https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2215/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=11067&killorg=True>*
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