By Mandy Park
As African Communities rounded off activities on Africa Water Week at the weekend, a Socially-relevant, environmental- friendly and need-meeting, non-profit organisation, AWWASHNet ( African Women Water Sanitisation and Hygiene Network) joined other advocacy counterparts to condenm the moves by some African governments to privatise water.
The group called for a Public Partnership approach in the administraton of water, insisting that water is part of human rights that must be provided to citizens and not commodify.
Different female activists who spoke in Lagos at the sensitisation of Ogba market women including Veronica Nwanya, Coordinator AWWASHNet, Aderonke Ige, Associate Director with CAPPA, and Lady Vickie Uremma Onyekuru, AWWASHNet, Chairperson, all raised the alarm over subtle plans by some African governments including Nigeria, at water privatisation agenda.
Nwanya said this year’s Africa Water Week Against Water Privatization couldn’t have come at a better time, cautioning that water remains an economic tool in the hands of big corporations and capitalists and must be resisted.
According to her “Water, a supposed fundamental human right freely given by nature remains an economic tool in the hands of corporations and capitalists.
” As Nigerians, mostly women across gather to remind the government of its responsibilities, they also use the opportunity to again warn the profit-driven entities and the financiers including the world bank and international monetary fund IMF to stay clear of the administration and management of water resources in Africa or face stiffer and sustained civil resistance from the highly impacted.
“Where available, the resources are unsafe. For instance, about 80% of Lagos’s piped water supplies are thought to be stolen while only 5% of people receive it in their houses.
” Taps are still dry, sanitation is non-existent. Many of the metropolis and hospitals are full of people suffering from diarrhea and other water-borne diseases, women bear the biggest brunt.
” For the market women here gathered and millions of others, having to pay local water suppliers is a hefty decision “.
Nwanya noted further that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), water scarcity affects 1 in 3 people in the African Region and the situation is deteriorating because of factors such as population growth, urbanization, and climate change.
Nwanya said the sensitization of Ogba market was born out of concern for the lack of access to quality drinking water within the market, the deplorable nature of Lagos state water works and the quality of the water supply.
She said women bear the brunt of providing water for their homes and must be considered.
Barrister, Aderonke Ige, explained to the women in the local dialect why they should come together to reject the water Privatisation agenda of the government or face the grievouy consequences thereafter.
Largely dominated by marketers (especially women) and passersby, Ogba market is densely populated and high in human interaction considering the volume of trading activities witnessed there.
The women complained about being marginalized, especially in the decisions that affect them in the market. Many of the women decided not to speak because of fear of being victimised.
The few that spoke out noted that water remains a necessity, adding that lack of water affects certain food items especially fruits, vegetables, fish, and other water-dependent consumables.
In her contribution,
AWWASHNet Chairperson, Lady Vickie Onyekuru, cited the sad. Water issue in Africa.
She said water scarcity affects 1 in 3 people in the African Region and is getting worse with population growth, urbanization and increases in household and industrial uses.
According to her “”water scarcity in Africa is predicted to reach dangerously high levels by 2025. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the world’s population may suffer from freshwater shortage by 2025.
“The main causes of water scarcity in Africa are physical and economic scarcity, rapid population growth, and climate change”.
