World-class in failing to sell water

In 1996, Timrå municipality’s politicians had the idea of starting to sell their own municipal water and started a municipal company to do so. Almost 25 years later, that municipally-owned company had not sold a single litre of water, despite the fact that in one year the water won a prize for being the best tap water in northern Sweden. The current CEO thinks enough is enough: “The only thing to do is to shut up shop”.

Taxpayers have paid out more than a quarter of a million SEK for this little experiment.

It is not uncommon for the public sector to be characterised by sheer incompetence. Projects are launched, are run with no requirement that they be efficient or develop in any way, and the decision to shut them down is often put off because no-one wants to admit that the whole thing was a failure.