CLIMATE CRISIS NO EXCUSE TO PRIVATISE PUBLIC WATER – SAYS WATER JUSTICE COALITION

As the world marks World Water Day 2025, a group known as ‘Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition’ (OWORAC), has called for urgent action to safeguard Africa’s water resources from what it describes as the twin threats of climate change and water privatisation. The OWORAC partners include SYNATEEC Trade Union, Cameroon; African Centre for Policy and Advocacy, Cameroon; Biodiversity and Biosafety Association, Kenya; Confédération de Syndicats Autonomes du Sénégal; and Senegal Water Justice Network, Senegal. Others are Water Citizens Network, Ghana; Revenue Mobilization Africa, Ghana; Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA) Nigeria; and Corporate Accountability, USA. In a statement, the coalition called on African governments to protect water as a public good, warning against the growing trend of treating water as a market commodity, just as it decried attempts to justify water privatisation under the guise of climate adaptation. Part of the statement reads: “This year’s theme, ‘Glacier Preservation’, spotlights the punishing impacts of climate change on global freshwater reserves. But the message must be clear, the climate crisis is no excuse to hand over our water to corporations.” OWORAC noted that rising global temperatures, largely driven by what it called reckless ‘extractivism’ and lack of corporate accountability, are already severely affecting freshwater availability across Africa, adding that to allow profit-driven models to control water supply would only deepen inequality and worsen access for vulnerable populations. “Africa’s water crisis is already at a tipping point with over 1.3 billion Africans facing water insecurity every day. The glaciers that feed our rivers and sustain life are melting at alarming rates, threatening water security for millions,” the coalition said. “The melting of glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro, the Rwenzori Mountains, and Mount Kenya —which feed vital rivers like the Nile, Congo, and others—will exacerbate droughts, food insecurity, and water stress for millions across the continent. In Africa, where entire communities depend on freshwater sources fed by mountain glaciers and seasonal flows, this crisis will not only intensify water shortages but also worsen social inequality. For those who already struggle to access clean and affordable water, the effects of climate change will be catastrophic—unless urgent action is taken.” The coalition drew a direct link between the worsening climate crisis and the growing push for water privatisation, calling them “two sides of the same coin.” “As glaciers recede and freshwater becomes scarcer, corporations and financial institutions are exploiting this crisis as an opportunity to entrench profit-driven models of water management,” OWORAC said. It further noted that “The push for corporate control schemes such as the so-called public-private partnerships (PPPs), water concessions, and bulk water purchase agreements across Africa has never been more prominent as African governments systematically cede control of water systems to profit-oriented entities. This has led to escalating water tariffs, reduced public oversight, and water cutoffs for non-payment, denying vulnerable populations access to a basic human right.” The pro-public water coalition warned that privatisation is not a solution to climate-induced water scarcity, arguing instead for long-term, publicly funded solutions. “If climate change is shrinking our water sources, then African governments must act decisively to expand and protect public water systems, not privatise them. The argument proffered by privatisation advocates, where they posit that increased private sector investment into the water sector is an appropriate response to climate-induced water scarcity, is flawed. “We need long-term commitments and action to adapt to climate change and fulfill the human right to water. Yet these urgent needs are simply incompatible with the insatiable pursuit of ever-rising quarterly profits and stock prices that corporations and their shareholders demand. The recklessly short-sighted profit incentives that have driven our planet to the current state of unsustainability must not be allowed to govern our essential public services, especially the provision of safe drinking water.” The statement cited past failures of water privatisation in countries such as Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Gabon, and Tanzania as evidence that applying market models to essential services is not only ineffective but harmful to marginalised communities.