Corporate Trade Show

A Corporate Trade Show

Pictures by SAVE

The 6^th World Water Forum converges at the city of Marseille France from the 12-17 March 2012 under World Water Council, this conference was nothing but a corporate trade show. The World Water Forum has no legitimacy on policy development as it does not represent citizens but it is used by corporations to push their agenda of commodification and privatisation of water and sanitation throughout the world.

The South Africa government especially the Department of Water Affairs allowed to be captured by corporations and to be pushed to privatized water services and infrastructure in the country, through Public-Private Partnership. The minister of water affairs Edna Molewa announced in World Water Forum that South Africa will be looking for Private Investments of 25 billion for the upgrading of 43 Waste Water Treatment Plants who are no functioning around South Africa.

In February at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town the Minister of Water Affairs announced that the department will be signing the agreement with Water Resources Group, to advice the department of Water Affairs, these WRG is lead by Nestle and other corporations that are heavily involved in water privatization of water services and infrastructure around the world and uses more water,

The government claims that these investments will assist to upgrade 43 Waste Water Treatments Plants, but the minister forgot that is the same government  that has allow these Waste Water Treatment Plant to collapse by not appoint people with skills at local government. Department of Water Affairs has failed on its obligations to monitor local government on upgrading and maintenance of the infrastructure especially in rural municipalities and the failer of the Minister to implement the National Water Act,

As citizens of this country we must remind the South African government that section 27 of Constitution guarantees the citizens right to water as the fundamental human  , and the United Nations General Assembly in June 2010 passed a resolution A/Res/64/292 and UN Human Rights Council Passed a resolution CA/HRC/18/L.1 on the human right to safe dinking water and sanitation, we call on the South African Government to distance itself from the declaration  issued on the 13 March 2012 at World Water Forum that failed to recognized water and sanitation as human rights. Water movements in South Africa we need to reject this announcement by the Minister of Water Affairs as it will lead to tariff increases; already government has failed to roll out sanitation and access to clean drinking water. Poor people and those who are living in the rural areas will suffer more.   

Picture by SAVE

The South African government must be held accountable on the health hazard that is being caused by municipalities and industries that are continue polluting water resources. Currently Vaal River is wasted, there are continues pollution incidents that are caused by the very same government.  .

\The South African government has legal binding obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights to water and sanitation to its citizens, and its must immediately implement the National Water Act, and provide clean drinking water and sanitation to poor communities and rural communities, the comodification of water and sanitation must be rejected, and the government must and provide poor municipalities with financial and technical skill to be able to  run and maintain their water treatment plants.