Coalition Against Water Privatisation hosts Ghanaian water activist
Tuesday 5 July 2005 by Dale
ACTIVIST FROM GHANA ARRIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA TO CHALLENGE WATER PRIVATIZATION
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Rand Water asked to attend public event to discuss plans in Ghana
Al-Hassan Adam, a leader of the Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water (GhanaCAP), arrives tomorrow in Johannesburg. He will come to South Africa because Rand Water, South Africa’s major water wholesaler, is bidding on a contract to privatize Ghana’s urban water system-a plan opposed by much of the Ghanaian population.
Adam will meet with South African activists working on similar issues here. Together, they have invited Rand Water to make a presentation at an international public debate on water management this Friday afternoon. While the invitation has been accepted by the Department of Forestry and Water, Rand Water has not yet announced they will attend despite their stated commitment to engaging with the community.
Since 2000, civil society organizations in Ghana have been organizing to oppose a World Bank-backed project to contract the management of their urban water system to large multinational water corporations. GhanaCAP, which has successfully derailed the plan for three consecutive years, was formed as a broad coalition of women’s groups, trade unions, public health workers, students, environmental groups, and disabled organizations against water privatization in Ghana.
Here in South Africa similar struggles continue as organizers in communities including Orange Farm and Phiri have organized to oppose the imposition of corporatized water, price hikes, and pre-paid meters.
While in South Africa, Adam will attend various meetings and be hosted by the Coalition Against Water Privatization, which includes a variety of NGOs and community groups including the Anti-Privatization Forum, Freedom of Expression Institute, Jubilee South Africa, and others.
The media are invited to attend various events with Adam including:
Thursday he will be visiting various communities in the Gauteng area that are resisting privatization, price hikes, and pre-paid metering of their water supplies.
Friday there will be an International Debate and Press Conference, featuring Adam and others, on the question of whether water management contracts constitute privatization, 1-3pm, Workers Library, Newtown. The event is free and open to all.
Dale
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