By Abbas Nazil
As the world commemorates World Water Day 2025, the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC) has strongly condemned the increasing push for water privatisation, warning that it threatens Africa’s already fragile water security.
In a statement released last Friday, the coalition urged African governments to resist the commodification of water, describing the twin threats of climate change and corporate control over water resources as deeply interconnected.
The coalition emphasized that this year’s theme, “Glacier Preservation,” highlights the severe impact of climate change on global freshwater reserves.
However, OWORAC stressed that this crisis must not serve as an excuse for handing over water management to corporations.
It criticized efforts to justify privatisation under the pretext of climate adaptation, arguing that doing so would deepen social inequality and further restrict access to clean water for vulnerable populations.
According to OWORAC, Africa is already facing a dire water crisis, with over 1.3 billion people struggling with water insecurity daily.
The rapid melting of glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro, the Rwenzori Mountains, and Mount Kenya, which supply key rivers like the Nile and the Congo, is exacerbating droughts, food insecurity, and water shortages.
Communities that depend on these freshwater sources are at heightened risk, making immediate government intervention essential.
The coalition drew a direct link between the worsening climate crisis and the rise of privatisation, calling them “two sides of the same coin.”
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It warned that as freshwater supplies dwindle, corporations and financial institutions are seizing the opportunity to push profit-driven water management models.
Public-private partnerships, water concessions, and bulk water purchase agreements are being increasingly promoted across Africa, leading to rising water tariffs, weakened public oversight, and service cutoffs for those unable to pay.
OWORAC argued that privatisation is not a viable solution to climate-induced water scarcity.
Instead, it called for large-scale public investment in water infrastructure, urging governments to strengthen publicly financed systems.
The coalition dismissed claims that private-sector involvement is necessary to address climate-induced challenges, arguing that corporations prioritize profit over people’s basic needs.
It pointed to past failures in Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Gabon, and Tanzania, where privatisation exacerbated water crises instead of solving them.
The statement concluded by urging African governments, regional blocs, and global institutions to reject all forms of water privatisation and instead implement policies that prioritize public water management.
OWORAC called for stronger climate adaptation strategies to protect freshwater reserves and for multinational corporations to be held accountable for water exploitation.
“Glaciers are melting, but our resistance remains unyielding.
Water belongs to the people—not the market,” the coalition declared.
