Water Scarcity, Western Solutions: A Familiar African Playbook
Al Jazeera reports that the African Union is now prioritizing 'water wars' as an emerging security concern across the continent, with experts pointing to climate change and internal conflicts as drivers. The narrative suggests a future plagued by resource disputes, a natural consequence of environmental degradation and burgeoning populations. Yet, this framing manages to sidestep the inconvenient
history of external actors. For decades, Western corporations have eyed African resources, often with the backing of state apparatuses. From colonial land grabs in the 19th century to the more recent push for privatization, exemplified by entities like Veolia entering African markets, the script remains eerily similar. This isn't merely about 'climate change'; it's about control over vital
resources, often privatized and sold back to the very people from whom they were extracted. Curiously, the discussion around 'solutions' rarely centers on holding multinational corporations accountable for pollution or resource depletion, nor does it foreground the billions in illicit financial flows, estimated at over $88 billion annually, siphoned from the continent. Instead, the focus shifts to
internal African 'conflicts' and 'climate'—a convenient re-orientation that deflects from deeper, structural inequities and external predation. This allows Western development banks and consulting firms to position themselves as indispensable saviors, offering costly infrastructure projects funded by loans. Ultimately, when 'water wars' become the headline, it primes the public for interventions,