Do you dwell in the city? Do you have water? What type, fresh or salty?
The National Assembly last month passed the Water (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which amends the Water Act, 2016. The Bill allows for public-private partnerships in the provision of water.
Challenges facing the water sector include underfunding, low wages and poor working conditions for labourers, lack of enough tools, no capacity training for workers, scarcity of ideas on staff retention, lack of strategic modalities on water governance, lack of evaluation of existing water workflow and lack of a clear multisectoral collaboration across water sector and governance.
An unprecedented water demand against supply has been predicted globally. There is a high demand for water owing to demographic changes. Water sourcing is local in some areas which enjoy direct sourcing to national water resource bodies.
Strengthening regulatory bodies through funding by the national government and not privateers or shareholding, is a better way to handle the water crisis. This would be better than trusting water functions to private entities.
Access to water is a constitutional right. The interdisciplinary approaches to water governance should not be politicised or left in the hands of profiteers. Leaving out community voices when designing and defining water governance has left women disenfranchised as water is crucial for basic human survival.
Other concerns against water privatisation include the agenda to introduce a prepaid water meter and shareholding. These business antics would be least useful and impractical. Natural resources are getting depleted.
Addressing climatic change effects can be articulated by communities in water catchment areas in collaboration with managerial bodies. Developing a lasting framework on water management, better working conditions for labourers, wastewater management, water infrastructure, water resource funding by government, water harvesting, water pricing and conservation of catchment areas, are integral to attaining gender justice and good water governance, with the community at the heart of deliberations.
The above are ways to attain and sustain lasting peace, in relation to access to water – a natural resource and utility. The Senate should drop the Bill privatising the provision of water to lock out privateers.