By Norm Dixon
Biwater, the huge British-owned corporation that has been named the "preferred bidder" for the Nelspruit's water and waste services, in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, is threatening legal action against opponents of privatisation in South Africa and around the globe.
The 250 million rand (A$83 million) deal, which will hand control of the city's water supply to Biwater for 30 years, may be finalised within three months. Biwater has formed a joint venture with a local company, Metsi a Sechaba.
The deal, which is favoured by the African National Congress-led government, has been delayed by strong opposition from the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), and local and provincial structures of the ANC, the South African Communist Party, the ANC Youth League and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
ANC representatives on the Nelspruit Council have disregarded the views of their constituents and championed the scheme in the name of "black economic empowerment". SAMWU has described these councillors' support for Biwater as an example of a growing trend where "a group of Africans with some links with the Mass Democratic Movement are opportunistically used to violate the economic interests of the poor. We cannot support this 'unpatriotic bourgeoisie'."
The privatisation of Nelspruit's water has become a test case, with other councils interested in following suite waiting for the outcome.
Biwater has sought legal action to stifle debate and penalise opponents of privatisation. In November, the company issued a threatening letter after a critical report was broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Biwater refused to appear on the SABC program. Afterwards, on November 17, it issued a statement that, "Until an apology and corrections are issued by SABC3, parent company Biwater Plc in the UK has indicated its intention to withhold its R200 million investment in the proposed pipe factory in Brakpan, Johannesburg, which was to have created jobs for several thousand local people".
In April, the water giant threatened legal action against South Africa's SangoNet and British-based GreenNet, which host web sites that contain a press release by SAMWU and a 12-months-old newspaper article exposing Biwater. The material is openly available elsewhere and has never been subject to libel action. The threat forced both providers to remove SAMWU's press release.
The press release and article outline allegations that Biwater was involved in an arms dealing scandal in the late 1980s which involved large "donations" to the British Conservative Party. These allegations have been the subject of detailed investigative reports by British newspapers, including the Sunday Times and the Observer. The papers were not sued.
In response, Public Services International, the world federation of public sector trade unions, condemned Biwater for its attempt "to silence democratic debate about water privatisation in South Africa".
The Institute for Global Communications stated, "We cannot remain silent while a multinational such as Biwater Plc attempts to stifle legitimate public debate on important issues by threatening libel proceedings. We believe that the article posted on our Association for Progressive Communications affiliates are part of legitimate public discourse on the issue of privatisation of public resources in South Africa."
Internet activists have hit back with a campaign to spread information about the corporation and SAMWU's struggle against it. The censored material can be found at <http://www.igc.org/labouruk>, <http://www.solinet.org/LEE/labourstart.html>, <http://www.cosatu.org.za/samwu/> and <http://www.world psi.org/>.