The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, has successfully placed the upcoming Africa Water Investment Summit on the agenda of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the 43rd Joint Meeting of Ministers responsible for Energy and Water.
The meeting, held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from July 3 to 4, brought together regional leaders to strengthen cooperation on critical water and energy issues.
Minister Majodina, who attended the meeting alongside Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, used the platform to urge SADC ministers to unite behind the upcoming Africa Water Investment Summit, co-hosted by South Africa and the African Union-Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AU-AIP).
The summit will take place in Cape Town from August 13 to 15, 2025, within the context of South Africa’s G20 Presidency
Africa faces a staggering US$30 billion (approximately R528 billion) annual water investment gap, threatening the continent’s economic growth and water security. The upcoming summit aims to mobilise financial commitments to close this gap and advance bankable water and sanitation infrastructure projects across Africa.
“We think that from that summit, we will have a concrete plan. Yesterday and today, there has been a discussion about funding, but if, as a continent, as a region we don’t come up with practical methods of doing that, we might come here and talk, but nothing happens to change the situation in our countries,” said Minister Majodina.
She emphasised that water and electricity are vital drivers of economic growth.
“As a continent, we must start being serious and start ringfencing budgets to fund our water infrastructure as well as energy. No country, region nor continent can survive without putting water and electricity as the catalyst for economic growth,” she said.
The AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit will focus on several key objectives, including mobilising financial commitments towards Africa’s water investment needs, advocating for better access to finance for water and sanitation projects, strengthening governance and accountability in the water sector, showcasing investment-ready projects to funders, and promoting legal and regulatory reforms to boost water investments.
Minister Majodina also engaged with her regional counterparts on the management of shared water resources and transboundary programmes, such as the Lesotho/Botswana water transfer and the Beitbridge/Musina integrated water supply scheme.
These initiatives demonstrate South Africa’s commitment to regional cooperation and improving access to water and sanitation services in SADC member states.
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