Coalition rejects water privatisation in Africa – Daily Trust

The Our Water, Our Rights Africa Coalition (OWORAC) has known as on African governments to reject the privatisation of public water programs and prioritise funding in publicly managed water companies to ensure common entry to protected, reasonably priced and dependable water.

The coalition made the decision at a press convention in Lagos to mark the 2026 Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation, scheduled for October 12–18, beneath the theme, “Reclaiming Africa’s Water Future: Public Water for All.”

The coalition consists of civil society organisations, staff, neighborhood teams and water justice actions throughout Africa, together with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in Nigeria.

OWORAC warned that business preparations, together with public-private partnerships, concessions, business tariffs and pay as you go water-meter programs, may deepen inequality and make entry to a vital service more and more depending on folks’s potential to pay.

The coalition stated years of insufficient public funding, weak water utilities, fast urbanisation, inhabitants development and worsening local weather pressures had contributed to persistent water provide challenges throughout the continent.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Convenor of Water Citizens Network Ghana, Geoffrey Occansey, stated the size of the disaster remained alarming, citing figures exhibiting that 2.1 billion folks globally lacked safely managed consuming water in 2024, whereas 3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation.

He added that 167 million folks in sub-Saharan Africa relied on restricted drinking-water companies throughout the identical interval, representing greater than half of the worldwide inhabitants utilizing companies at that degree.

According to the coalition, unreliable public water provides pressure many households, notably low-income households and underserved communities, to depend upon probably unsafe sources or buy water from distributors, tankers, non-public boreholes and packaged-water suppliers.

Occansey cited analysis indicating that low-income households counting on water distributors in sub-Saharan African cities may pay between 10 and 20 occasions extra per unit of water than wealthier households related to public networks.

He described the scenario as a poverty penalty, arguing that individuals with the least monetary assets usually pay the very best costs for important companies.

The coalition acknowledged the pressing want for funding in water and sanitation infrastructure however insisted that financing preparations should shield public entry relatively than prioritise business returns.

It warned that transferring public duties to non-public operators may end result in unaffordable companies, uncared for infrastructure, labour abuses and environmental degradation.

OWORAC additionally raised issues about poor sanitation, insufficient wastewater administration and unmanaged stable waste, which proceed to infect water our bodies, threaten public well being and worsen flooding in African cities.

Citing company accountability issues, the coalition referenced a 2025 Global Witness investigation that reported alleged environmental air pollution linked to a Veolia-managed landfill in Colombia. It additionally cited allegations by the Gabonese state regarding petroleum waste at pumping stations following Veolia’s operations, alongside allegations of monetary mismanagement involving Suez’s operations in Senegal.

The coalition urged governments to strengthen public water establishments, enhance funding for infrastructure and staff, enhance planning programs and guarantee significant neighborhood participation in water governance.

It additionally known as for clear disclosure of water contracts, tariffs and financing preparations, alongside measurable nationwide and regional funding commitments.

Occansey stated the African Union’s designation of 2026 because the Year of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063” offered a possibility to advance water justice.

He urged African governments to make use of the Africa Water Vision 2063 and the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to strengthen commitments to public financing, accountability and common entry.

“Africa’s water future cannot hinge on attracting more private investment. It must be built on functioning public water systems that people can rely on,” he stated.