President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on investors to make more of their capital available for the development of water projects on the continent as a crucial part of the solution to the region’s $30bn (R525bn) a year water infrastructure investment gap.
He was speaking at the opening of the AU’s first Water Investment Programme (AIP) Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday morning, which also formed part of SA’s activities as president of the G20.
Thirty-eight water ministers from around the continent and leaders from other parts of the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, are attending.
“Water investment must no longer be an afterthought at climate and finance discussions. It must be at the centre of discussions. It must be financed, tracked and championed. Let us leave this summit with deals, pipelines, partnerships and a permanent global mechanism to sustain the momentum.”
According to the African Development Bank, the continent faces immense backlogs and gaps in the development of water infrastructure, which will require $30bn in infrastructure investment annually to close, which many countries in the region do not have.
Ramaphosa said the summit had three critical objectives, namely to endorse the 2016 high-level panel on water’s declaration to scale-up investments, showcase a pipeline of 80 priority water investment projects from 38 countries and facilitate matchmaking between governments, financiers and partners.
He mentioned a water purification plan in Zuikerbosch, Gauteng, which is projected to supply an additional 600-million litres of water a day to consumers in four provinces where water demand is growing.
“Last week we were able to demonstrate the capacity and appetite of Africa on mega project investments when I launched the second phase of the Zuikerbosch water purification plant in Gauteng.”
Ramaphosa said the flagship project was a demonstration of the government’s commitment to infrastructure investment, economic upliftment and ensuring sustainable water supply for future generations.
Also present at the event, Eswatini’s King Mswati III said his kingdom endorsed the AIP’s intention to canvas more capital for water infrastructure development as some African nations faced infrastructure gaps and the disproportionate brunt of weather events caused by climate challenges.
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