World Water Day 2022 has a strong African focus, as the corporate World Water Council holds its triennial global Forum in Dakar, Sénégal. Citizens of Sénégal subsidised the Council through the millions of Euros paid by their government just to have the ‘honour’ to host the Forum. However, it appears that Senegalese people aren’t welcome, as the World Water Forum charges exorbitant entry fees. 

The African continent offers the potential for many lucrative corporate contracts to build and operate water supply, treatment, and hydropower infrastructure.  Governments are likely to line up for the money and promises of the World Bank, regional and national development banks and agencies and corporations – with the conditions of various forms of privatisation or private control.

PSI, its unions and its allies also gather in Dakar this week, at the Peoples’ Water Forum to challenge the corporate agenda

PSI, its unions and its allies also gather in Dakar this week, at the Peoples’ Water Forum to challenge the corporate agenda, including its privatisation, financialisation, land grabbing and water pollution from mining and other extractives. The African Water Movement is showing its strength in Dakar and around the continent. Links to the program plenaries and workshops, (which will be in-person, hybrid and virtual) and to the Facebook page.

PSI and our allies call out the failures of privatisation and public-private partnerships, to the extent that the big water companies change their business approach. They can no longer be assured of easy 25-year PPP contracts, as people mobilise to counter their backroom practices. We also challenge the growing power of financial corporations and their financialisation of public services.  In this time of crisis, we think it is a scandal that financial companies are trading water on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Even the UN Sustainable Development Goals hinge on the takeover of our services through various ‘innovative finance’ mechanisms.  We must break the corporate hold on our policies and public institutions. 

Over the years, we focused on strengthening democratic public services, where workers and communities have more influence in the governance structures of public utilities. Much of this happens at local and regional government levels, which are closer to the people.  We also support public utilities to help each other through public-public partnerships, including with the Global Water Operator Partnerships Alliance at UN Habitat. We continue to push for returning privatised services to public hands, or remunicipalisation. And we support water workers in their demands for better tools, training and working conditions. 

Struggles in the water sector are connected to campaigns for labour rights, climate justice, gender equity, debt relief, tax justice and stopping illicit financial flows. 

But we need more! Covid, climate and conflicts show that we must drastically change direction. We must focus on the Commons, those goods and services that are essential for life on this planet. On re-orienting our public institutions to serve the needs of people and planet, not the corporations. On building social and economic systems which recognise and value the work of women, both at the workplace and in our families. 

On short supply chains and industrial policies determined not by maximum profits (at the expense of workers and the environment) but towards social and environmental priorities.

The fight for the right to water is the fight for the world we need.