At the African Union Water Investment Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday, South Africa’s president said water must be at the very center of climate and finance discussions. President Ramaphosa announced that one of the summit’s main goals is to endorse a declaration committing nations to scale up investments and improve governance.
Another key objective is to showcase a pipeline of 80 priority investment projects from 38 different African countries to potential financiers. He stressed that water must no longer be an afterthought in discussions, but rather a significant driver of economic transformation, innovation, and peace.
Ramaphosa called for the creation of a world where water is recognized as a human right and not weaponized against women, children, and communities. Nardos Bekele-Thomas of the AU Development Agency said Africa loses over $200 billion annually due to insufficient water investments and climate impacts.
Bekele-Thomas stated that the continent is “tired of decisions, strategies, and plans” and now urgently needs action and immediate implementation to address the crisis. Botswana’s President Duma Gideon Boko warned that his country and three others could become highly water stressed by 2040 without swift intervention.
He emphasized the critical importance of maintaining strong international water relations among countries that share rivers and lakes for security and cooperation. King Mswati III of Eswatini said Africa must encourage more investments in water preservation projects to protect future generations from rainfall reduction.