OWORAC Calls for Public Water Systems to Tackle Climate Crisis
Coalition Launches 5th Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation
Civil society organisations, trade unions, community movements, and youth groups across Africa have launched the Fifth Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation, a continent-wide campaign coordinated by the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC).
Held from 13–18 October 2025 under the theme “Public Water for Climate Resilience,” the campaign urges African governments to reject water privatisation and strengthen publicly managed water systems as the foundation for climate adaptation and social equity.
OWORAC warns that as Africa faces intensifying droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall, climate change is exposing the fragility of the continent’s water systems — many of which have suffered decades of underinvestment. Instead of rebuilding these systems, some governments, often influenced by private sector interests and international lenders, are turning to privatisation and desalination projects, which the coalition says will worsen inequality and environmental degradation.
“The climate crisis must not be turned into a pretext for water privatisation,” the coalition said. “True resilience lies in strong, transparent and publicly accountable systems that protect water as a common good.”
OWORAC highlighted the environmental and financial downsides of desalination, describing it as energy-intensive, fossil fuel dependent, and environmentally damaging. It cited examples such as the Carlsbad plant in California, where desalinated water costs 73% more than existing supplies, and Tunisia, where the cost is up to three times higher than reservoir water.
The coalition also criticised Morocco’s 35-year concession with Veolia, warning that similar projects could hand over control of vital water systems to multinational corporations. Veolia’s global record, OWORAC noted, includes steep tariff hikes and poor service outcomes in cities such as Bucharest, Romania.
Instead of privatisation, the coalition is calling for sustained public financing for water and sanitation infrastructure, investment in renewable energy to lower carbon emissions, and community-led management of water resources. OWORAC also urged governments to end the practice of attaching privatisation conditions to international loans and to adopt policies that protect the poor and vulnerable from exclusion.
“The path to climate resilience runs through public water systems that serve all, not through profit-driven models that leave the poor behind,” OWORAC said.
The statement was jointly signed by 20 organisations from across Africa and allied global partners, including Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Senegalese Water Justice Network, Revenue Mobilisation Africa, and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), among others.
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