Health
Coalition rejects privatisation of Africa’s public water systems
The Our Water, Our Right Africa Coalition has called on African governments to reject the privatisation of public water systems and commit to universal access to safe, affordable and publicly managed water services.
The coalition warned that commercial control of essential services such as public-private partnerships, commercial tariffs, concessions and prepaid water-meter systems could worsen inequalities and expose communities to unsafe water if access to water increasingly depended on people’s ability to pay.
They further stated that inadequate public investment, weak water utilities, rapid urbanisation and climate pressures had deepened water access challenges across the continent, leaving low-income households and underserved communities vulnerable.
In a press conference on Monday to mark the 2026 Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation, the coalition urged governments to prioritise public investment in water infrastructure and ensure access to safe, affordable and reliable water and sanitation services.
The week-long mobilisation, running from October 12 to 18, is themed, “Reclaiming Africa’s Water Future: Public Water for All.”
The week of action was signed by organisations including the Senegalese Water Justice Network, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa in Nigeria, the Amaka Nweke Foundation in Nigeria, Water Citizens Network and Revenue Mobilisation Africa in Ghana, Disability Not a Barrier Initiative in Nigeria, Green Scenery in Sierra Leone, Voices for Water in Zimbabwe, the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, and Corporate Accountability International.
The Convenor, Water Citizens Network Ghana, Geoffrey Occansey, on behalf of the coalition, noted that 2.1 billion people globally lacked safely managed drinking water in 2024, while 3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation.
He added that 167 million people in sub-Saharan Africa relied on limited drinking-water services in the same year, accounting for more than half of the global population using services at that level.
The OWORAC said the lack of reliable public water supplies forces many households to depend on unsafe water sources or buy water from vendors, public standpipes, private boreholes, tankers and packaged-water suppliers, sometimes without adequate assurances of quality and safety.
Occansey cited research indicating that low-income households in sub-Saharan African cities that depend on water vendors could pay between 10 and 20 times more per unit of water than wealthier households connected to public networks.
The coalition described the situation as a poverty penalty, in which people with the lowest incomes could pay the highest prices for an essential service.
“Research on urban water access in sub-Saharan Africa has found that low-income households dependent on vendors may pay 10 to 20 times more per unit of water than wealthier households connected to public networks. This is a poverty penalty in which those with the lowest incomes can end up paying the highest prices for an essential service,” Occansey said.
The coalition expressed concern that governments were increasingly presenting public-private partnerships, concessions, commercial tariffs and prepaid water-meter systems as solutions to water supply challenges.
While acknowledging the urgent need for investment in water and sanitation, the coalition argued that financing and governance arrangements should not make access to water dependent on people’s ability to pay.
The OWORAC said transferring public responsibilities to commercial interests could deepen existing inequalities and lead to problems including infrastructure neglect, labour abuses and environmental degradation.
“Privatisation schemes have a well-documented track record of failure above and beyond the immediate concern of unaffordable service, ranging from infrastructure neglect to labour abuses to environmental degradation. This underscores why the answer to years of public underinvestment cannot simply be to transfer public responsibilities to commercial interests,” Occansey added.
The coalition also warned that poor sanitation, inadequate wastewater management and unmanaged solid waste continued to contaminate water bodies, undermine public health and worsen flooding in many African cities.
Citing concerns about multinational water companies, it referred to a 2025 Global Witness investigation which reported that footage from a Veolia-managed landfill in Colombia appeared to show untreated leachate being discharged into waterways flowing into protected wetlands. Tests commissioned for the investigation also found elevated mercury levels at one sampling point.
The coalition further cited allegations by the Gabonese state concerning petroleum waste at pumping stations following years of Veolia’s operation, as well as allegations of significant financial mismanagement involving Suez’s operations in Senegal.
OWORAC said droughts, floods, pollution and other climate-related disruptions made it more urgent for governments to strengthen public water institutions and invest in resilient infrastructure.
The coalition maintained that years of underinvestment and administrative failures should not be used to justify transferring essential public services to private interests.
Occansey called for stronger public institutions, increased funding for water infrastructure and workers, improved data and planning systems, protection of public water resources and greater community participation in decisions affecting water access.
OWORAC also noted that the African Union had designated 2026 as the Year of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
Occansey said the launch of the Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy, alongside the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, offered opportunities for governments to strengthen commitments to water and sanitation.
The coalition said its position paper, Implementing the Africa Water Vision 2063: An OWORAC Coalition Position on Water Justice, Public Financing and Democratic Water Governance, examined gaps in implementing the vision and proposed measures to promote human rights, public accountability and adequate public financing.
Among its demands, the coalition called for measurable national and regional financing commitments, transparent disclosure of water-related contracts and tariffs, adequate funding for public water utilities, and meaningful participation of communities, workers, women and other affected groups in water governance.
Occansey also urged African governments to reject privatisation, concessions, outsourcing and other arrangements that transfer the control or delivery of public water services to commercial interests.
He also called on governments to reject privatisation, concessions, public-private partnerships, management and lease contracts, outsourcing, prepaid water-meter systems, and all other arrangements that transfer control or delivery of public water services to commercial interests.
Occansey said, “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.”
The week of action was signed by organisations including the Senegalese Water Justice Network, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa in Nigeria, the Amaka Nweke Foundation in Nigeria, Water Citizens Network and Revenue Mobilisation Africa in Ghana, Disability Not a Barrier Initiative in Nigeria, Green Scenery in Sierra Leone, Voices for Water in Zimbabwe, the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, and Corporate Accountability International.
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