Lagos govt water privatisation will deepen inequality, coalition warns

A collation of development-focussed groups and people has actually alerted that privatising water services in Lagos might make water less cost effective for bad citizens, advising the state federal government to invest more in public water facilities.

Rufus Olusesan, president of the Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), provided the caution on Monday throughout the Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation 2026, arranged by the Our Water, Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC) in Lagos.

He mentioned that personal operators might prioritise rewarding locations at the expenditure of underserved neighborhoods such as Ajegunle and Makoko.

“Water is not a product. It is a human right,” Mr Olusesan stated.

Speaking on the style, Reclaiming Africa’s Water Future: Public Water for All, he got in touch with the Lagos State Government to assign a minimum of 5 percent of its yearly budget plan to water facilities.

He kept in mind that the existing allotment was less than one percent, although the figure might not be individually confirmed.

He likewise required the rehab of the Iju, Adiyan and Ishasi water supply, conclusion of the Adiyan II job and examinations into specialists dealing with water tasks that had actually stopped working to provide the anticipated outcomes.

Union cautions versus commercialisation of water

In a joint declaration checked out by Geoffrey Occansey of Ghana’s Water Citizens Network/Revenue Mobilisation Africa, OWORAC kept in mind that insufficient public financial investment, population development, urbanisation and environment pressures had actually gotten worse water system difficulties throughout Africa.

The union advised federal governments to reinforce public water supply instead of utilize their imperfections to validate moving services to personal operators.

The declaration mentioned worldwide figures revealing that 2.1 billion individuals did not have securely handled drinking water in 2024, while 3.4 billion did not have securely handled sanitation. In sub-Saharan Africa, it stated, 167 million individuals depended on minimal drinking-water services that year.

The union mentioned that families without trustworthy public water materials frequently depended upon suppliers, tankers and personal boreholes, leaving poorer citizens to pay more for an important service.

Pointing out research study on city water gain access to in sub-Saharan Africa, it discussed that low-income homes depending on suppliers might pay in between 10 and 20 times more per system of water than families linked to public networks.

“This is a hardship charge in which those with the most affordable earnings can wind up paying the greatest costs for a necessary service,” the declaration stated.

It alerted that industrial tariffs, concessions, public-private collaborations and pre-paid water meters might aggravate inequality if gain access to progressively depended upon families’ capability to pay.

The declaration likewise mentioned a 2025 Global Witness examination into a Veolia-managed land fill in Colombia, together with issues about Veolia’s operations in Gabon and Suez’s participation in Senegal’s metropolitan water supply. The union argued that private-sector participation needed reliable public oversight and did not instantly deal with facilities and sanitation issues.

It contacted African federal governments to release water-related agreements, funding plans, tariffs and expense, while including employees and impacted neighborhoods in choices about water management.

Lagos water policy deals with opposition

Opposition to private-sector involvement in Lagos water services precedes the most recent project.

PREMIUM TIMES formerly reported that the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE) opposed the Lagos State Government’s strategy to run its water supply through a public-private collaboration (PPP) plan.

The union implicated the management of the Lagos Water Corporation of utilizing water shortage to convince locals that private-sector involvement was the only sustainable method to enhance supply.

“It is discouraging to state here that at this vital duration when nations throughout the world are welcoming re-municipalisation, Lagos State is leading privatisation,” the union stated.

The Lagos State Government had kept that it is not privatising its water supply however embracing a PPP design to satisfy the state’s growing need for water.

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) had likewise opposed the proposed plan, firmly insisting that supply of water ought to stay openly handled and economical.

At Monday’s occasion, Mr Olusesan proposed a water board making up federal government agents, employees, neighborhood groups and civil society organisations. He stated the board needs to release its spending plans and expense quarterly to allow homeowners to keep an eye on public costs.

He likewise declared that the Lagos Water Corporation disengaged more than 800 employees in 2024 to make the corporation more appealing to financiers. He alerted that changing irreversible personnel with casual employees might weaken task security, pension privileges and the technical capability needed to preserve water facilities.

A report had actually specified that the Lagos State Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (Trade Union) condemned the reported termination of more than 370 employees from the corporation.

In a petition to the state federal government, the council’s chairperson, Olusegun Balogun, declared that the terminations were performed under the guise of restructuring and redundancy without sufficient interaction or settlements with union agents.

Mr Balogun prompted the federal government to suspend the procedure and engage the afflicted unions, consisting of AUPCTRE and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations, Government-Owned Companies and Associated Organisations.

He likewise required an examination into the corporation’s management and making use of World Bank loans assigned to enhance its operations.

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) individually declared that the terminations became part of an effort to privatise water services in Lagos. The group advised the state federal government to reverse the disengagement and enhance supply of water throughout the state.

The reported termination of more than 370 employees and Mr Olusesan’s claim worrying over 800 employees in 2024 associate with separate accounts. The corporation and the state federal government must clarify the figures and scenarios surrounding the reported task losses.

OWORAC proposes continental financing target

At the occasion, Holiness Olufemi, program officer for water projects at CAPPA, revealed OWORAC’s position paper on carrying out the Africa Water Vision 2063.

Entitled “Implementing the Africa Water Vision 2063: An OWORAC Coalition Position on Water Justice, Public Control and Democratic Water Governance”, the paper requires more powerful public water supply, sufficient federal government financing and higher neighborhood involvement in water management.

Ms Olufemi stated the vision might enhance access to water and sanitation throughout Africa, however its success would depend upon federal governments dedicating adequate resources and guaranteeing that public costs produced quantifiable outcomes.

Among the paper’s main propositions is a continental funding criteria for water and sanitation, supported by nationwide financing targets and transparent reporting.

Ms Olufemi pointed out the 2001 Abuja Declaration, under which African leaders dedicated to assigning a minimum of 15 percent of their yearly budget plans to health, as a precedent for developing a comparable criteria for water and sanitation.

Under the proposition, federal governments would be examined not just on their spending plan allotments however likewise on the funds launched and invested, the facilities provided and the resulting enhancements in access to safe and economical water.

READ ALSO: Report reveals World Bank loan-funded water tasks stop working Bauchi, Ekiti, Rivers individuals

The paper likewise proposes an African Water Accountability and Monitoring Mechanism to track development and hold organizations liable.

Mr Olusesan required legislation identifying access to water as a human right and restricting water privatisation.

“Government needs to money water corporation as it funds roadways and airports,” she stated.

The project comes as the African Union marks 2026 as the Year of Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.

OWORAC advised African federal governments to utilize the Africa Water Vision 2063 and the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to advance public funding and reinforce neighborhood involvement in water governance.

“Public Water for All is not a motto. It is possible, it is budget friendly, it is our right,” Ms Olusesan stated.

The joint declaration was backed by water justice and civil society organisations from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Kenya, along with the global organisation Corporate Accountability.

Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria

Sign up for get the current posts sent out to your e-mail.