Water security, urbanisation and privatisation

Following my COP27 post, I would like to take a look at the water security within Africa and how global climate change, urbanisation and privatisation affects it and the governments decisions on water management to provide sustainable water access for the citizens of African states. 

In 2021, The State of the Climate in Africa report put particular focus on water. It revealed that already 250 million people are affected by high water stress and by 2030 more than 700 million would suffer in water security. Security risks due to climate related changes heighten social, economic, and political challenges across the world, and with water being the most precious natural resource, without which no living creature can survive, it could lead to water conflicts and geopolitical tensions (such as the Nile Basin tensions). Many regions in Africa are particularly vulnerable to those changes, such as Horn of Africa, which suffers from extreme droughts, and Central Africa, with extreme weather changes and droughts. 

In 2019, WRI analysed 5 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, showing that less than 25% of population in urban areas has access to safely managed water and only 42% to safely managed sanitation. The gap between water security and expanding urban population is concerning, revealing that current supply strategies are not adequate and shining a light on socio-economic inequalities. Putting socially disadvantage population groups in further disadvantage in access to safe drinking water, while households with higher socio-economic status had higher water security and better access to safe water. It can be argued that majority of people experience water scarcity not only due to physical factors (absence of natural water resources and weather conditions) but is socially induced, with lack in economic resources to improve availability of water access.

Moreover, with the fastest urban growth rate in the world, many African countries, such as South Africa, Cameroon, and Niger, have adopted water privatisation to improve the water sector, as most suffered from management of the sector rather than lack of water, providing their people with safe drinking water and sanitation. However, there are number of issues with the methods used to privatise the water sector: government having little power over private firms, failure in cooperation between private investors and water regulators, public sector failing to pay its bills and such private sector does not pay adequate funds to the government asset holding institution, reducing government’s funds for investment. Additionally, many of these countries, which are challenged with significant economic difficulties, had to undergo economic restructuring programs as instructed by the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), involving several conditions, such as privatisation of public utilities or sale of government-owned companies. A case study of Cameroon showed that under privatisation contracts, which claimed to solve the problem of water supply, the country still experienced water shortages with irregular supplies. At the end of the day, privatisation creates opportunities for corruption, with private firms contributing very little or nothing to the funding of water sector in African states, focusing on personal agendas and ownership, with efforts to maximise profits.

To solve existing water management and water security problems, a new alternative approach is needed. Namely, focus on public revenue rather than forcing private, eradication of divisive party politics to prevent unequal distribution of drinkable water to different social classes of city residence and restoration in citizens' trust in government intentions and capabilities by listening to people and their needs.