As the world observes World Water Day 2025, the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC) has issued a strong warning against the rising trend of water privatisation in Africa, urging governments to protect water as a public good rather than a market commodity.
In a statement released on Friday, OWORAC condemned the use of the climate crisis as a justification for handing control of water resources to private corporations.
With this year’s World Water Day theme, “Glacier Preservation,” highlighting the devastating effects of climate change on freshwater sources, the coalition stressed that privatisation is not a solution to Africa’s deepening water crisis.
“The climate crisis is no excuse to hand over our water to corporations,” OWORAC stated.
The coalition highlighted how rising global temperatures—driven by unchecked corporate extraction and a lack of accountability—are significantly reducing freshwater availability across Africa.
It warned that allowing profit-driven companies to control water access would exacerbate inequality and worsen the already precarious situation for vulnerable populations.
“Africa’s water crisis is at a tipping point, with over 1.3 billion people facing water insecurity daily,” the statement read.
OWORAC also warned that Africa’s melting glaciers pose a serious threat to millions of people who depend on rivers fed by these ice formations.
“The melting of glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro, the Rwenzori Mountains, and Mount Kenya—which supply vital rivers such as the Nile and the Congo—will intensify droughts, food shortages, and water stress. Entire communities that rely on seasonal flows will face catastrophic consequences unless urgent action is taken,” it added.
The coalition drew a direct link between climate change and the growing push for water privatisation, arguing that corporate interests are exploiting the crisis to take control of water resources.
“As glaciers recede and freshwater becomes scarcer, corporations and financial institutions are using this crisis as an opportunity to entrench profit-driven water management models,” OWORAC warned.
Across Africa, governments are ceding control of public water systems through public-private partnerships (PPPs), water concessions, and bulk water purchase agreements.
These deals, OWORAC argues, have resulted in: Escalating water tariffs, reduced public oversight, water cutoffs for non-payment, disproportionately affecting the poor.
Rather than solving water scarcity, privatisation restricts access to this basic human right, the coalition stated.
OWORAC cited past failures of water privatisation in several African countries, including Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Gabon, and Tanzania.
It argued that market-driven approaches do not improve water access but instead create new crises.
“Market models do not solve water crises; they worsen them. The track record of privatisation in Africa is one of higher costs, inefficiency, and exclusion,” it stated.
The coalition called on African governments to reject corporate-led water management and instead commit to long-term, publicly funded solutions that prioritize access for all.
Rejecting the idea that privatisation is necessary to address climate-induced water scarcity, OWORAC urged governments to expand and protect public water systems.
“If climate change is shrinking our water sources, then African governments must act decisively to invest in strong, climate-resilient public water infrastructure—not privatise it,” OWORAC contended.
The coalition criticised private-sector advocates who argue that corporate investment is essential for water sector development, calling their claims flawed.
“The insatiable pursuit of quarterly profits and rising stock prices cannot be allowed to govern public services—especially water, which is essential to life,” OWORAC maintained.
To combat water privatisation and climate-induced water insecurity, OWORAC called for: Massive public investment in water infrastructure to enhance climate resilience, community-led water governance models that prioritize local needs over corporate profits, strong legislative protections to prevent privatisation under the guise of climate adaptation, accountability measures to hold multinational corporations responsible for water exploitation, and an end to financial institutions imposing privatisation as a pre-condition for water sector funding.
“Glaciers are melting, but our resistance remains unyielding. We will not allow the climate crisis to become another excuse for corporate capture of our water. Water belongs to the people—not the market,” OWORAC posited.
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