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African leaders eye $30bn for water crisis at high-level talks in Cape Town

African leaders eye $30bn for water crisis at high-level talks in Cape Town
Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina (centre) and former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete (foreground, centre right) and guest speakers at the preparatory meeting for the African Union-Africa Water Investment Programme Water Investment Summit 2025 in Cape Town. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)
Kristin Engel
By Kristin Engel
24 Mar 2025
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Summits, meetings, panels and other talk shops are all good and well, but without concrete action, Africa’s water crisis will persist, continuing to leave millions without access to clean water and sanitation.

African leaders, global policymakers and development financiers met last week in Cape Town for high-level talks hosted by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on ambitious water investments, hoping to mobilise $30-billion annually to address Africa’s water crisis. 

But the grand speeches and ambitious commitments ring hollow against the harsh reality on the ground — nearly half of South Africa’s drinking water systems fail to meet basic safety standards; the country faces a projected 17% water supply shortfall by 2030; and 70% of water treatment plants are at high risk of failure.

On the sidelines of the International Water Association (IWA) Congress in Cape Town last week, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina hosted a group of high-level delegates – including African ministers and former President of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete – at a preparatory meeting for the African Union-Africa Water Investment Programme (AU-AIP) Water Investment Summit 2025 to take place in August 2025 in Cape Town. 

kikwete Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)



The preparatory meeting was touted as a crucial platform to consolidate bilateral partnerships and secure commitments from key stakeholders, including government representatives, international development agencies, private sector investors and civil society organisations.

However, amid high levels of pomp, the meeting was plagued by technical glitches, a delayed start and a glaring absence of even preliminary financial pledges.

This is crucial to address the large funding gap needed for climate-resilient water investments to achieve the water-related SDG targets in Africa. 

Will the AU-AIP summit deliver real change?


South Africa is leading preparations for the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit, aligning with its G20 presidency to elevate water investment as a global priority. 

The preparatory meeting last week was set to further develop the summit, which is expected to contribute to South Africa’s G20 priorities of rapid and inclusive economic growth, eradication of poverty and hunger, and climate sustainability, by accelerating investments into climate-resilient water and sanitation. 

The delegates set out to review progress on water investment initiatives and set the roadmap for water-securing commitments from governments, financial institutions and private sector players.

Some of the objectives of the meeting included strengthening partnerships for water and climate resilience, mobilising funding and commitments for water infrastructure and preparing a roadmap for a summit declaration by African leaders to be presented at the G20 summit on the mobilisation of water investments, including firm pledges of specific actions to strengthen sector governance and capacity.

water africa Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina (centre) and former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete (foreground, centre right) and guest speakers at the preparatory meeting for the African Union-Africa Water Investment Programme Water Investment Summit 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)



But while the speeches appeared to deliver all the right buzzwords and emotive language, they were hindered by muffled video messages, a severely late start to the programme and, seemingly, a lack of real funding commitments.

This is while barriers become more apparent to achieving SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) on the African continent. Despite some claimed progress, more than 300 million Africans still lack access to clean drinking water, and more than 700 million live without access to acceptable sanitation (as was even noted in the concept note for the preparatory meeting). 

The feeling from the preparatory meeting was that it seemed to be yet another long talk shop with an astounding amount of pomp, some last-minute stand-ins as some financiers and groups could not attend in person, a delayed start to the meeting, and an absence of even preliminary funding commitments.

Majodina said, “It is important that we acknowledge that water is a precious resource and therefore we must take care of water. Every drop of water must count. If you look at the continent, not a single president in this continent can stand up and say, ‘all my people in my country have access to water’. And that tells us that all our presidents must do likewise.”

Majodina reiterated some of her opening comments from the beginning of the week at the IWA Congress, that President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared water as priority number one and added that “we must ensure that all what we do is centred around water.”

Yet, as the 2023 DWS reports note, nearly half of South Africa’s drinking water systems fail to meet basic safety standards, the country faces a projected 17% water supply shortfall by 2030, and 70% of water treatment plants are at high risk of failure.
The Water Research Commission has noted that for millions in South Africa, the lack of clean water isn’t just inconvenient, but a daily threat to health, livelihoods and survival. 

The commission said that water shortages were damaging the economy, disrupting education, worsening food insecurity and overall threatening the country’s stability.

We don’t have to look far to see the effects of this, it’s happening in urban,  peri-urban and rural communities across South Africa (and Africa).

It would have been remiss for Majodina not to mention the water crisis in Gauteng – she said there was a shortage of water on a daily basis because non-revenue water was running down the streets of the province.

“The water pipelines are unable to carry the volume of water that is [needed]. And that is where we need this partnership, not only for South Africa, but this partnership is needed throughout the continent. That is why the leaders of this continent, Africa, took a decision that they are going to host the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit,” said Majodina. 

Summits, meetings, panels and other talk shops


The African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025 hopes to mobilise funding for the huge gap in water investments.

Convened within the context of South Africa’s G20 presidency, the summit seeks to elevate the political and economic status of water investments, to enable the continent to mobilise at least $30-billion annually for climate-resilient water and sanitation initiatives. 

Kikwete delivered the keynote address at the preparatory meeting. He is chair of the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) and co-chair of the Africa Water Investment Panel which includes sitting and former presidents and eminent leaders such as Ramaphosa.

He noted that without urgent action, climate change would affect every aspect of life in Africa and the reverberations would be felt worldwide (confirmed by the International Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 

“This is why we must respond swiftly and collectively by accelerating investments into climate resilience and adaptation. We in Africa experience climate change through water catastrophes, droughts, floods and cyclones,” said Kikwete.

He reiterated Majodina’s sentiment that water was essential to every aspect of life. It was particularly critical in the health sector, where many diseases were waterborne and hospitals relied on clean water to treat patients, perform surgeries and maintain hygiene.

Schools, businesses and service industries, including hotels, could not function without water. Factories and other productive sectors depended on it.

Kikwete said that $18-19-billion was invested in water initiatives annually in Africa. “If we get $30-billion, the water blues won’t be there.

“This is not just about securing funding, it is about transforming the way we govern, the way we finance and the way we implement water investments across our dear continent in Africa,” said Kikwete.

Kikwete said project-based support needed to shift to systemic investment approaches that sustained long-term impact.

Action plan


In November 2023, the African Union Commission and the High-Level Panel on Water Investments in Africa launched the Africa Water Investment Action Plan, outlining how African countries could mobilise an additional $30-billion per year.

The plan supports the implementation of the High-Level Panel’s landmark two reports, Africa’s Rising Investment Tide and the AU’s Mind the Gap Investing in Water.

But without concrete commitments, funding, clear accountability measures and urgent intervention, Africa’s water crisis will continue to deepen, all while high-level delegates move on to the next conference, repeating the same rhetoric. DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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