A coalition known as Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC) says it wants the new government in Senegal to end the commodification of water and ensure universal access for all citizens, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status.
According to the coalition of 8 organizations, only public control and the democratic management of water resources can guarantee the right to potable water and deescalate tensions in communities where water has been privatised.
While the coalition commends the President’s initial steps of auditing and evaluation all public-private partnerships (PPP) in the state, it calls on the new Senegalese government to work to promote the total democratic control of water services by the people of Senegal and to totally halt all water privatisation contracts currently subsisting with any corporation in any municipal in Senegal.
The coalition cited the situation in Ngodiba, a village in the commune of Kahi, Kaffrine central Senegal, as a prime example of the water injustices stemming from the financialization of water services in Senegal.
Sefa Ikpa is the Programme Officer, Water Campaign, Corporate Accountabilty and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA