Italy Withdraws From Controversial World Bank Privatisation Fund
From The Transnational Institute – a worldwide fellowship of committed scholar activists
Press release, 22 May 2007

In May 2007, the Italian government withdrew its support from the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), a highly controversial element of the World Bank’s water privatisation agenda, on the eve of PPIAF’s annual meeting of donors in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Announcing Italy’s withdrawal in a message to the International Civil Society Forum Stop Water Privatisation - Alternatives to the PPIAF, Vice-Minister Patrizia Sentinelli of the Italian foreign affairs ministry said:

“Water is not a commodity and we have to work to remove it from the logic of privatisation. I think it is crucial to have an international debate on the negative consequences of the push for privatisation in sectors so sensitive that touch upon our common goods. For this, I thought it appropriate in this moment to withdraw the participation of the Italian Development Cooperation from the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility.

“I hope that this political signal will, together with that of other governments, reopen international debate on these issues. These discussions should be courageous enough to look at the effects on the ground of international policies in a world which is more and more our common world. And I hope that most of you will be open to support a broader objective such as agreeing on a universal declaration of water as a human right within the framework of the United Nations.”

Italy thus becomes the second nation to formally withdraw from PPIAF, following Norway’s exit in February. This follows a major campaign by civil society around the world. In early May 2007, 138 NGOs and trade unions from 48 countries issued an open letter to donors of PPIAF (which includes Canada!) demanding that they withdraw funding from PPIAF’s water programme and instead fund progressive public alternatives.

Elena Gerebizza of the Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale in Italy welcomed the decision saying, “We welcome the courageous move of the Italian government. There are better ways to use limited development aid resources than paying consultants to push privatisation in poor countries. We will encourage the Italian government to withdraw from other World Bank initiatives and to instead spend public funds on effective pro-poor programmes. It is outrageous that donors continue to channel public aid money into initiatives that promote private sector interest at the expenses of the poorest in the world.”

Vicky Cann of the World Development Movement said, “Coming on the eve of the annual get-together for PPIAF donors, the importance of the Italian withdrawal is clear. Activists in 48 countries are demanding that the remaining donors to PPIAF now follow Italy’s lead, including the UK which has given it nearly £50 million from the aid budget in the past 8 years.“

Campaigners argue that PPIAF’s aid-funded consultancy programmes undermine the rights of poor countries to decide how to run their public services. PPIAF has funded projects in many poor countries where international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have attached water privatisation conditions to loans, debt relief or aid.

Campaigners are particularly critical of PPIAF’s funding for ‘consensus-building’ projects which try to persuade stakeholders in developing countries to accept water privatisation.

CLICK HERE to see the full statement (in English and Italian) by Vice Minister Patrizia Sentinelli on the Italian government’s withdrawal from PPIAF.

About the PPIAF:
Donors to this pro-privatization World Bank agency include: the Asian Development Bank, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the US and World Bank itself.