Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa,CAPPA has voiced strong opposition to the Lagos State Government’s apparent focus on privatizing water utilities, claiming this approach disregards alternative management models and harms disadvantaged communities.
CAPPA’s criticism follows the Lagos International Water Conference, LIWAC, held from June 25 to 26, 2024. The conference, themed “Financing Water and Sanitation for a Greater Lagos,” was organized by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, LASWARCO.
It aimed to explore innovative funding solutions for the state’s water sector and attracted government stakeholders, private sector investors, diplomats, and international NGOs.
However, CAPPA highlighted a significant bias towards Public-Private Partnerships, PPPs, as the exclusive solution for Lagos’s water crisis. The organization pointed to speeches by the State Governor, the Minister for Water Resources, representatives of the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and the State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, all of whom supported privatization.
CAPPA argues that while Lagos undeniably faces a potable water crisis, PPPs are not the only solution. The organization emphasized that alternative approaches such as public control and community management of water have been effective worldwide, providing more inclusive and sustainable solutions to water challenges.
“Evidence from Africa and elsewhere shows that water privatization does not improve community access to water,” CAPPA stated. “Countries like Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania have faced legal and financial issues trying to reverse failed privatization attempts.”
CAPPA noted recent examples such as Niger re-municipalizing its water utilities after decades of privatization and Senegal, often cited as a privatization success, now facing public backlash over rising costs and water scarcity, leading to an audit of all PPP contracts.
The organization also criticized the conference for not including frontline communities, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, girls, persons with disabilities, and members of informal communities, who are most affected by the lack of access to safe public water. CAPPA condemned the absence of pro-public water civil society organizations and water justice advocates at the event.
CAPPA urged the Lagos State Government to consider sustainable water financing models that engage critical stakeholders and groups meaningfully. The organization called on authorities to listen to communities on the frontlines of the water crisis, including civil society organizations and grassroots social movements.
“The Lagos State Government must adequately fund its water sector and resist privatization pressures from international financial institutions and private water corporations,” CAPPA asserted. “The discussions at LIWAC 2024 promoted water as an economic good rather than a social necessity, a stance that is immoral given the systemic and historic defunding of the state’s water sector.”
CAPPA concluded by urging the government to reevaluate its reliance on PPPs in the water sector and prioritize democratic control of water utilities. The organization highlighted the case of Manila, Philippines, where water privatization led to a 300% increase in tariffs, workforce downsizing, and substantial government debt, contrasting sharply with the positive image promoted by privatization advocates.
“For Lagosians, water privatization would mean steep and unrealistic water cost increases, mass job losses, corporate grabbing of public water, a decline in water quality, a general deterioration in the quality of life, and significant economic and social liabilities for the Lagos State Government,” CAPPA warned.