WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

which are demanding the return of their hereditary territorial rights.
Although this privatisation model is meant to ensure that 70 per
cent of company shares are owned by consumers, shares may be sold
according to commercial law, just like in any other partnership. Noone
can prevent private companies buying up these shares and one day
gaining control of the water supply.
This is a volatile situation which could lead to further conflicts.
The GTZ is obviously not interested in reaching the kind of “mutual”
agreement which it and other institutions call for in critical situations. In
April 2000, activists from social movements and citizens’ organisations
founded the National Interinstitutional Water Committee (CONIAG),
with the aim of holding public meetings where controversial issues
could be discussed and negotiated. The GTZ’s response was to
undermine the process by trying to seize control of the organisation.
When this attempt failed, it set up a parallel committee to prevent any
public amendment of water regulations that might not be compatible
with its own privatisation strategies.
Whenever views from the civil movements’ camp diverge from its
own, the GTZ’s stereotype reaction clearly demonstrates that it does not
want any form of public participation or co-determination whatsoever.
When, within the framework of the National Irrigation Plan, a
scheduled private-enterprise irrigation foundation (FUNRIEGO),
financed by government funding but with no liability towards the
public, was up for consideration alongside a more popular participatory
model (a National Irrigation Service), the GTZ insisted on pursuing
the creation of this private foundation. The manner in which all this
took place revealed the private company’s true intentions – to appoint
manipulable top-ranking officials to take control of resources.
In the past, the leading protagonists from the various governments
responsible for speeding up privatisation policies have been backed by
experts and engineers employed by the GTZ – support they still enjoy
to this day.
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