None of the mayoral candidates are campaigning on it, but the issue of Veolia Corporation taking over the city’s Water Department keeps turning up in the debates like a bad penny. Most citizens are unaware of the issue, and it doesn’t clear up the debate when Mayor Francis G. Slay says he’s not trying to privatize the water department while his main opponent, Lewis Reed, warns us “Buyer, beware.”
Connecting the dots will help. This has been made easier due to the dogged efforts of a local groups of activists called St. Louis Dump Veolia which has not only done the research but has been successful at halting a vote by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) to approve Veolia’s lucrative consulting contract. The group has even exposed human rights abuses by Veolia in Palestinian land as it carries out its Israeli contract.
Veolia claims to be No. 1 in the business of managing public water, energy waste and transportation systems all over the world, and it probably is with 8,500 cities under its thumb and $40 billion in annual revenue. Based in Paris, France, the multinational flies into a given city and acquires a contract to “manage” the services. More accurately described, the services are outsourced for maximum profits for the company while the city maintains ownership.
Mayor “Throw-a-Rock-and-Hide-his-Hand” Slay claims that he is just looking for a company to give the city the best ideas about how to have a more efficient water system.
Billionaire Rex Sinquefield’s well-financed think tank, the Show-Me Institute, has produced a report extolling the virtues and values of privatizing the city’s water supply. Rex is the mayor’s top donor.
John Temporiti was the campaign manager for St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and was also a lobbyist for the county. He managed to get that $70,000 job in spite of a hiring freeze. Temporiti is currently a paid lobbyist for Sinquefield’s political firm Pelopidas and for Veolia Water North America. He’s got quite a reputation for being a bulldog and getting what his clients want.
Rex is all for demolishing the city in favor of a city-county merger. He was behind eliminating the city’s earning tax that makes up about one-third of the city budget. He’s rabid about privatization and seems to have utter disdain for anything public. We can thank Rex for his efforts to undermine the public good as it relates to government, and he has enough money to throw around and keep stakeholders happily silent.
Why should citizens oppose a Veolia contract?
First, it’s a blurry line between outsourcing and privatization. Second, government belongs to the people and not to the highest bidder. When citizens lose control of a resource as valuable and necessary as water, we will be at the mercy of the moneymakers.
Lastly, like most privatization efforts where profits are the rule, Veolia’s track record is not exactly stellar around the world. In 2009, its home city of Paris has even dumped it. Contract breaches of poor performance abound.
The other two-thirds of the Board of E&A have expressed their views. Comptroller Darlene Green has cautioned the speed of the Veolia contract process and has recommended public hearings. President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed has reminded of us previous reports contracted by the city on this very topic need only to be dusted off and revisited.
Meanwhile, citizens need to stay on top of our water issue before we look up and are beholden to Veolia. I’m confident that Dump Veolia coalition will keep us focused.
