Water commodification and decommodification narratives : pricing and policy debates from Johannesburg to Kyoto to Cancun and back

During the period of Apartheid, the population in the South African townships refused to pay for water and other public services. This was broadly seen as a sign of resistance against the regime in place. Today it is still broadly refused to pay for water. Access to water is seen as a human right. There is a widespread feeling among South African citizens, that therefor water should be free for all. An unpleasant atmosphere has developed over the recent years against water providers such as the Suez Water Company, but also towards the World Bank and other development aid organisations. All these organisations are being seen as aid and abet of the exploiters from the white and rich developed world. The terminology used for this phenomenon is "global apartheid".
In this article, a variety of political and economic aspects of water privatisation in South Africa and the (un)willingness to pay for water are covered. The different contestatory events concerning the global-scale water policy that emerged for the first time in a structured way when progressives visited the World Water Forum in The Hague 2000, are related in chronological order. The rebuff of the pre-paid water meters of the Suez water company is emphasised, and the fact that by the end of 2003 millions of people were disconnected from water, because they could not or would not pay for it underlined.
In this article the author reports the developments as he observed them, with a great deal of personal opinion.