Water Privatization

The last two weeks in class we were talking about water privatization in Africa. I think this is a very important topic as water privatization is happening all across the world and I don’t think a lot of people actually know about the issues with it. Water privatization puts a tap on the natural water supply on earth and makes it also unaccessible in some way just as the picture above is showing.

So this is a very contemporary issue and something that will also be impacted by climate change. As I stated in the last post the issue of water scarcity will increase but there are also most likely going to be a few areas around Africa where precipitation actually increases. One could think that the problem of water supply might be solved around these areas but the issue has not only been about the availability of water but also about the accessibility of water. There are several reasons why that is. It might be lack of development, meaning lack of infrastructure, lack of resources and knowledge to build a water suppling system.

However there are big water companies that get more and more involved in the water infrastructure across Africa. They look after water sanitation and water management as well as building the infrastructure to make water actually accessible. Providing all of these services the ownership of the water sources shifted from the government to private companies. This change enables them to charge for the water someone uses. This seems reasonable as they also invested money in building everything. However it also leaves them with power over restricting the water in case they don’t get as much money as they want. I think this is very risky as water is a basic human need and a human right as well so therefore everyone should always be able to access it no matter their wealth. 

Because with privatization it happens that they the companies mainly focus on wealthy areas as these are places where people are most likely to be willing to pay more for the water. They mainly build the water infrastructure in those areas not providing water services to poor areas. 

It is arguable that without these companies getting involved the people would not have access to any sanitary water at all. I just think it is problematic to gain profit out of such a basic human need which is naturally produced as well. This human right for water should be prioritized over the interests of private companies. 

There is definitely need for regulation of this ever spreading system of water privatization. 

A possible resolution would be to approach a user self-governance like communal water management which would lead to a more sustainable and ethical use of water. A problem which could come with this might be a lack in meeting the actual water needs in the communities. 

Moreover considering how precipitation and water availability is going to change due to climate change this is going to become an even bigger issue. Areas will need to adapt to their changing climate and get an even better water infrastructure if the risk of droughts is increasing. Also if they are getting more runoff they need to figure out a way to make this water accessible and turn it into water that can be used. 

This is a very hard topic to discuss as there are lots of different opinions around. So please let me know about your thoughts concerning this issue! I would be very interested in reading some different views on this.