Civil society and labour activists on the platform of the Our Water Our Right movement have called on the Lagos State Government to reject all forms of corporate control of water and privatisation of water services, including through so-called “public-private partnerships.”
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, addressing participants at the Lagos Ministry of Environment and Water Resources
The groups include the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), and the Joint Action Front (JAF), among others
The groups made the call in a petition to the Lagos State Government through the Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Tunji Bello, after a protest march to mark the commencement of the Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation, which holds from October 11 to 15, 2021.
The week of action was convened by the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition comprising labour and civil society groups from Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda, among others.
The protest march which culminated in the delivery of the petition started at the Marwa Gardens with activists chanting solidarity songs and displaying placards with inscriptions such as “Water is not Deal”, “World Bank Stop Pushing Water Privatisation or PPP on Africa”, “World Bank, Take your hands off our water”, etc.
In a speech at the premises of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “The decision to deliver this petition to the Lagos government is informed by the body language of the Lagos government which seems to favour privatization at a time that there is a growing Afro-wide resistance to privatisation.”.
Others that spoke were Achike Chude, vice chair of JAF; Philip Jakpor, CAPPA Director of Programmes; and Abiodun Bakare, Nigeria Labour Congress Lagos State Secretary.
In the letter to the Commissioner, which had as title, Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation – Uphold Human Right To Water, the groups said that it was worried that the Lagos State Government is yet to present its blueprint on how to develop the water sector that will guarantee universal access to the people of Lagos and that comments from some government officials indicate that there is a fixation with the idea of water privatisation and the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
They noted that experiences from cities where water has been privatised show rates hike, job losses, low water quality, shut offs and ultimately government thrown into perpetual debts. Most of these cities have embraced remunicipalisation – another word for taking back water from privatisers and putting it where it should be – under public and democratic control. Buenos Aires, Berlin, Ghana, Gabon, Jakarta, Paris, Tanzania, and lately Cameroon are some examples to note.
The demands made on the Lagos State Government is that it rejects all forms of water privatisation and fulfil its obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil the human right to water for all people by prioritising robust public investment, ensuring meaningful public participation in water governance (with particular focus on the perspectives of those typically left out of decision-making, namely women, low-income, and rural communities), and enshrining the human right to water in law.
Others are that the state government respects and protects the livelihood of workers by ensuring safe working conditions, protection from retribution for raising complaints, and investment in salaries and pensions reflective of the public service these workers undertake every day.
Source: Environewsnigeria.com
