TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Subekti, director executive of the Indonesian Drinking Water Producers, said that Indonesia’s drinking water service was the worst among those in other ASEAN countries.
“Our people consume poor quality water,” Subekti said in a discussion held by the Forum for Indonesian Student Press Association’s (PPMI) Alumni in Jakarta on Sunday, November 22, 2015.
Subekti added safe drinking water in Indonesia could only be accessed by 68.8 percent of the population in 2015. The figure, Subekti said, was far lower than those in Southeast Asian Countries who had managed to achieve 100 percent.
“About 31.2 percent of Indonesian people consume unsafe water,” he said.
According to Subekti, issues with raw water availability, lack of commitment to provide clean water, electricity bills, debts, human resources, leakage, and funding are among challenges to be faced to provide the best clean services.
Subekti added that lack of regulations governing drinking water and sanitation had hampered the services. Subekti called on the government to establish a national regulatory body to manage drinking water and sanitation affairs.
In the National Mid-Term Development Plan, the government sets a target to provide 100 percent access to safe drinking water in 2019. In addition, the government expects that the number of customer to grow by 59.5 percent from 10 million to 27 million.
“Certainly, we can’t use usual business strategies. There must be a policy breakthrough,” he added.
MAYA AYU PUSPITASARI
