JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela took the earth summit by the scruff of its neck on Wednesday, urging politicians to make access to clean water a basic human right and to put water and sanitation much higher up the political, economic and social agendas.
In his first speech to delegates, he said it was “the absence of access to clean water” that was “most stark in the widespread impoverishment of the natural environment”.
“Access to water is a common goal. It is central in the social, economic and political affairs of the country, African continent and the world. It should be a lead sector of cooperation for world development,” the former South African president told more than 120 water ministers and industry and non-government groups.
The UN says the lack of fresh water and sanitation is the greatest obstacle to sustainable development and the most visible symbol of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. More than one billion people do not have access to safe water and two billion have no basic sanitation, leading to millions of deaths each year from water-borne diseases.
As severe floods and droughts increasingly affect both rich and poor countries, it is estimated that humans will need 50 per cent more water a year as countries industrialise and populations grow.
In a separate meeting, African water ministers were told the continent needs investment of $20bn a year if it is to meet targets to halve the number of people living with unsafe water or sanitation within 15 years.
But a positive note was struck by the EU. Confidential papers seen by the London-based Guardian newspaper confirm Europe will next week announce a major partnership with African countries, which is expected to channel hundreds of millions of pounds into African water supplies in the next 10 years. Work will begin in six river basins to bring water to some of the 300 million people on the continent who have unsafe or intermittent supplies.
On Wednesday a stream of people attested to the problem. “The world water crisis is a crisis of management, not scarcity,” said Willem-Alexander, the Prince of Orange from the Netherlands, whose UN report on the state of world water is to be debated.
“Globally there is sufficient to provide security for all, but only if it is managed well. It will require clear choices.”
The prince proposed that drought-tolerant GM crops should be urgently developed for developing countries facing water shortages. “The summit should confirm the priority of this issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, a simmering row flared over moves in many countries towards the privatization of water. “Governments are promoting privatization as the only alternative to deal with the obvious needs of the poor,” said Barrie Coates, director of the World Development Movement. “But the record of privatization around the world is very mixed. In many cases companies have exploited the poor for profit.”
He added: “The British government and others at Johannesburg pushing privatization must put the interests of the poor first, not the commercial opportunities for their companies.”
The world’s water industry council replied that it was bringing water to the poorest people and must make a profit on its large investments.
At the moment about 95 per cent of the world’s water supply is controlled by cash-strapped local authorities, but a handful of international companies are being brought in by governments to manage cities’ water supplies.
In the past year there have been riots after price increases in Bolivia and Argentina. At least 12 of the poorest countries in the world are being pressured by the International Monetary Fund to privatize their supplies as a condition of getting loans.
Five kilometres from the convention centre, in the sprawling, desperately poor township of Alexandra, a group of pensioners was pleading with the South African government to improve the water situation.
“We are suffering badly,” said Ivy Nuvuno. “They want us to pay for water but we have no money. I have to share a tap with 100 other families, and go to the communal baths for a shower.
“Water is life, but I get just 600 rand ($30) a month. How can we live?”
Johannesburg’s water supplies are in the hands of the French water giant Suez.
“This has already led to problems,” said Trevor Ngwane, a leader of the South African anti-privatisation campaign. “People in the township of Soweto have been given 14-day notices threatening to cut them off.
“Elsewhere, informal settlements now receiving free water have been told that they will have to pay. People are having water meters installed in their tin shacks. They are fighting, accusing each other of stealing water.
“Water is a very emotional issue in Africa. It is seen as a fundamental right of all human beings.”
At the summit, many delegates demanded that the industry become more accountable. Paul Baskar, of India’s Peace Trust, said textile industries in Tamil Nadu in his country’s south-east were heavily polluting water supplies and damaging crops. “Industry around the world must face up to its responsibility not to pollute water,” he said.
Queen Mohhabela of the Sekhukhune district of Limpopo in South Africa agreed: “We all have to learn to use it better. The situation is very serious. There is not enough for us to develop. Water will be the great problem facing our communities in the next 10 years.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.