By Innocent Anaba

Civil society organisations across Africa, under the banner of the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition, OWORAC, yesterday, resist corporate takeover of public water systems and demanded governments invest in publicly owned, climate-resilient water infrastructure.

They made the call at the kick-off of the 5th Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation.

The event, which began at the headquarters of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, in Lagos, was organised in partnership with the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay Coalition.

The coalition, comprising civil society groups, trade unions, and community networks from more than 10 African countries, said the campaign aims to expose the dangers of privatisation and push for equitable, sustainable, and publicly managed water systems.

Addressing newsmen, Programme Officer, Water Campaign, CAPPA, Sefa Ikpa, said water must remain a public good and a human right, not a commodity for profit.

She warned that the increasing push by African governments to privatise water, often encouraged by international financial institutions, was deepening inequality and threatening access for low-income communities.

“Climate resilience will not be achieved through privatisation schemes that entrench exclusion. It will be built through strong, transparent, and publicly accountable systems that guarantee access to water for all.

“The climate crisis must not be turned into a pretext for water privatisation. Public water systems, when adequately financed and democratically managed, are the backbone of climate resilience.”

OWORAC cited examples from across Africa where privatisation schemes have worsened access and affordability.

The coalition noted that while governments frame such projects as climate adaptation measures, desalination is energy-intensive, relies heavily on fossil fuels, and generates brine waste that damages marine life. “This model privileges profit over people and pollutes the very ecosystems communities depend on,” the group said.

Instead, OWORAC urged African governments to prioritise public investment, renewable energy integration, and ecological restoration, arguing that such measures can strengthen water resilience without exploiting communities.

It also called on global financial institutions to stop attaching privatisation conditions to loans.

The coalition proposed alternatives such as rainwater harvesting, aquifer recharge, and community-led watershed management, which it described as culturally grounded and cost-effective means of ensuring water access amid climate change.

Signatories to the statement include groups from Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, and Cameroon, among them CAPPA, Revenue Mobilisation Africa, African Centre for Advocacy, Ecumenical Water Network of Nigeria, and the Syndicat Autonome des Travailleurs des Eaux du Senegal.

It pointed to Morocco’s 35-year concession with Veolia to build Africa’s largest desalination project, describing it as a “dangerous precedent” that could saddle citizens with exorbitant water costs.

Similar concerns were raised over projects in Tunisia and California, where desalinated water costs were reportedly two to three times higher than traditional sources.