African leaders and development partners have called for a shift from repeatedly discussing the continent’s water and sanitation challenges to building strong institutions capable of attracting investment and delivering lasting services to communities.
Speaking at the opening plenary of the Africa Water and Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium, Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr Justin Nsengiyumva, said Africa should move beyond the traditional debate over where funding for water and sanitation projects will come from.
“We should not be misguided into repeating the same old conversations around where money will come from, rather, we should think about how we build the kind of institutions that money wants to find.”
Prime Minister Nsengiyumva said effective institutions, strong governance, sustainable financing mechanisms and accountability are essential to expanding access to water, sanitation and hygiene services across the continent.
He emphasised that political commitment must be accompanied by systems capable of ensuring that infrastructure and investments continue to serve citizens long after projects are completed.
“Governance based on political will follows up to ensure that every infrastructure built continues to provide services to our people,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, strengthening governance remains one of the major challenges facing the water and sanitation sector in Africa, making leadership platforms such as the symposium critical for identifying practical and sustainable solutions.
Africa needs water security
Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Senegal’s Minister of Water and Sanitation and President of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), said Africa can no longer afford to focus solely on diagnosing its water crises.
“Africa must no longer be content simply with making diagnoses, identifying and describing its water crises. It must now build genuine water security across the entire continent.”
Dieye called for a stronger continental commitment to ensuring reliable and sustainable access to water, while addressing the institutional and structural challenges that continue to undermine water security.
His remarks highlight the need for African countries to move from identifying problems to implementing coordinated solutions that can withstand growing population pressures, urbanisation, climate-related challenges and rising demand for water.
Water is a strategic development priority
The United Arab Emirates Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa, also underscored the importance of water access to national development.
He said water should be treated as a strategic priority by countries because reliable access to the resource is fundamental to economic and social development.
The leaders’ remarks at the symposium underline a common message: Africa’s water and sanitation crisis is not solely a question of financing.
It is also a question of leadership, institutional capacity, accountability and the ability to turn investments into sustainable services.
The symposium is therefore providing a platform for African leaders, policymakers and partners to explore how stronger institutions and improved governance can help accelerate progress towards universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services across the continent.
