Throughout Africa, a united front of civil society organizations, known as the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC), has firmly opposed the privatization of public water services. They are calling on governments to channel resources into publicly owned water infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change.
This appeal was made during the inauguration of the 5th Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatization, an event themed “Public Water for Climate Resilience.”
The campaign was launched at the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) headquarters in Lagos, in partnership with the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay Coalition.
Bringing together civil society organizations, labor unions, and grassroots networks from more than a dozen African countries, the coalition aims to expose the dangers of water privatization while promoting equitable, sustainable, and publicly managed water services.
Addressing the media, Sefa Ikpa, CAPPA’s Water Campaign Programme Officer, stressed that water must remain a public good and an inalienable human right-not a commodity for commercial gain.
She raised alarms over government policies that have left thousands in Nigeria and other African nations without reliable access to safe water, with many rural and isolated communities still dependent on unsafe and inconsistent sources.
Ikpa warned that the increasing push by African governments-often influenced by international financial bodies-to privatize water services only deepens social inequalities and threatens marginalized groups’ access to this essential resource.
“Building climate resilience cannot be achieved through privatization schemes that widen exclusion,” she asserted. “It demands strong, transparent, and publicly accountable water systems that guarantee access for all.”
She further emphasized, “The climate crisis should never serve as a pretext for privatizing water. When adequately funded and democratically managed, public water services are the cornerstone of climate resilience.”
Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA’s Executive Director, pointed out that the United Nations has officially recognized access to clean and safe drinking water and sanitation as a fundamental human right vital for the enjoyment of all other rights. Yet, he cautioned that this right faces growing threats in Africa due to ongoing privatization trends.
Oluwafemi remarked, “At a time when we urgently require robust, publicly accountable water systems to ensure universal access, there is increasing pressure to transfer control of this critical resource to profit-oriented corporations, despite widespread public opposition.”