Engineering a new water future

A recent summit highlighted ways to address South Africa's water crisis, turning it to opportunity by finding effective ways to fund change

- Bonga Ntuli & David Sawyerr

For too long, the narrative surrounding water in Africa has been one of need — or excess — and crisis. That's about to change.

A fundamental issue at the recent African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit in Cape Town was the immense commitment of $30 billion annually by 2030, set some years ago by the High-Level Panel of the Africa Water Investment Programme, to secure the continent's water future.

The Global Outlook Council on Water Investments, a G20 Presidential Legacy Initiative, was launched at the summit, repositioning the African Water Investment Platform as the Global Water Investment Platform, marking a pivotal mindset shift.

The goal is to turn water provision from fragmented crisis into coordinated opportunity, not just in Africa, but around the world. With a pipeline of 80 priority projects across 38 countries already identified, Africa is poised for this paradigm shift.

However, this transformation cannot be achieved simply by building more water infrastructure. The true opportunity lies in embedding engineering innovation in this investment drive and proving we can deliver measurable social, economic and environmental returns.

Securing the scale of investment needed requires more than innovative engineering, however. It demands financing models that are credible, bankable and aligned with the developmental realities of each country involved. A commitment to efficiently and effectively managing existing infrastructure must be demonstrated.

The principle is simple — it is cheaper to maintain than to repair and cheaper to repair than to replace.

Water is a public good, yet the infrastructure that delivers it must be financed, built and maintained in a way that balances commercial viability with the imperative of social impact. Investors need to be confident that their capital will be used effectively, not simply poured into a leaky bucket.