The Government of the Republic of South Africa, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), the AU-AIP High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), hosted the AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit that took place in Cape Town International Convention Centre, Western Cape.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Inge I. Zaamwani attended the summit and delivered a speech on behalf of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndeitwa.
At the summit, Zaamwani revealed that Namibia have allocated N$ 4.8 billion (US $ 270.5 million) from its national budget and billion in concessional loans from partners such as the African Development Bank and KfW for water and sanitation projects. In addition, the government of Namibia is also advancing public-private partnerships for strategic infrastructure, including a new desalination plant to serve both mining and domestic needs.
Africa has been recorded to face about US$ 30 billion annual water investment gap. The summit intended to mobilize investments in climate-resilient water and sanitation projects, ensuring water security, economic growth, and sustainable development across the continent.
Zaamwani also highlighted that across Africa, many communities still lack safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, too many farmers still depend on rainfed agriculture while rainfall has become more and more unpredictable and many industries still face operational risks due to water scarcity.
“Without decisive actions, these gaps will widen under the pressures of climate change, population growth, and urbanization”, She said.
Africa`s water infrastructure remains underfunded, hindering economic development, social well-being and climate resilience. Water and sanitation are foundation to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, advancing public health, food security, industrial growth, and climate adaptation. Yet, across the continent, inadequate governance, financing shortfalls and limited technical capacity continue to constrain progress.
Zaamwani urged policymakers, financiers, civil society, and the private sector to take action and align political will with financial muscle to build partnerships that will transform Africa`s water future.
The three-day summit featured high level political plenaries, high-level sessions on investment and innovation, project showcasing and investment match making sessions and youth water investment track sessions among others. The summit also enabled AU member states to align on water investment track session among others.
