Ramaphosa urges more investment in Africa’s water infrastructure
President Cyril Ramaphosa says a significant gap exists between investment and the African continent's water needs.
Ramaphosa spoke on the first day of the three-day African Union Water Investment Summit in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Thirty-eight African water ministers, country leaders, and potential investors attended the summit.
Ramaphosa said the summit's goals include scaling up investment, showcasing a pipeline of 80 priority investment projects from 38 countries and facilitating matchmaking between governments and financiers.
According to the African Development Bank, Africa needs about $30 billion yearly in investments for water infrastructure development; however, only $10 billion to $19 billion a year is currently invested.
“We are bringing Africa and international partners together and calling on investors to heed the call to invest in water,” said the president.
“Quite often, when investments take place, water is always relegated to the back. We are now bringing water, an essential process that sustains our lives to the fore, to make sure that water is put on the investment agenda.”
The president also mentioned the water purification plant at Zuikerbosch in Gauteng, which supplies an additional 600 million litres of water a day to areas with a higher water demand, saying the project was for the government to invest in water infrastructure.
“This flagship project is a demonstration of our government's commitment to economic upliftment and ensuring a sustainable water supply for future generations. This project, now the 600 million litres a day, adds to the 4,400 litres a day.”
The president added that women and children are largely affected by the lack of water across the continent.
He called for the ministers to create a world where water is recognised as a human right and not weaponised against women, children and communities.
“I raise the issue of women advisedly because in the end, particularly on our continent, it is women who bear the brunt of lack of access to water, and we need to endow the women of our continent with dignity, with respect and make sure that they have access to good water.”
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