Private water suppliers retreat

By Friday afternoon, according to a report in the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the suppliers had turned the taps back on and the water from privately owned wells and boreholes was flowing again.

The suppliers said they had ended their strike out of respect for their clients. The chairperson of the Association of Mozambican Water Suppliers (AFORAMO), Paulino Cossa, said the suppliers had relented because, despite the suspension of service, the consumers had been paying their bills, and signing contracts.

But the bills were paid and contracts were signed before the taps were turned off on Thursday morning. What happened immediately on Thursday was that infuriated consumers pointed out that the suppliers were violating the contracts they had signed. Consumers threatened to sue the suppliers and to stage demonstrations outside their offices.

Cossa threatened “intermittent” suspensions of supplies in the future. Thus next month the taps will be turned off for another two days, a month later the cut will be for three days and so on. This remains a violation of the contracts between the suppliers and their consumers.

Cossa claimed that the government shows “total disrespect” for the investments made by the private suppliers. What he meant was that the private suppliers are losing clients to the public water network.

This was entirely predictable: the government has made no secret of its determination to improve the coverage of the public network. This pledge is in the government’s five year programme, and in the annual Economic and Social Plans. Massive investments have been made in expanding the network in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola.

The total claim from AFORAMO for losses of clients and future profits, and damage to its piping when public pipes are laid, amounts to around 500 million US dollar. The Ministry of Public Works says hat paying such sums is out of the question.

An advisor to the Minister, Joaquim Cossa, reacting to the resumption of supplies, said it was predictable, because the private suppliers were in reality waging war against their own clients and not the government.

He said the suppliers’ behaviour was incomprehensible, since AFORAMO and the government were still negotiating over the compensation issue.

Cossa stressed that the expension of the public water network will continue, and it is up to consumers to decide whether they want to buy their water from private or public suppliers.