Mozambique: Minister attends Water Investment Summit, meets with Jakaya Kikwete in Cape Town, South Africa

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Mozambique: Minister attends Water Investment Summit, meets with Jakaya Kikwete in Cape Town, South Africa

12:26 CAT | 18 Aug 2025

Photo: Notícias

The Water Investment Summit , an event aimed at mobilizing investment for climate-resilient water and sanitation projects, ensuring water security, economic growth, and sustainable development on the African continent, concluded on Friday (15-08) in Cape Town, South Africa.

Convened by the Republic of South Africa, African Union Commission, AU-Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa and the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD)0, the summit was hosted in the context of South Africa’s G20 presidency, aligning with its priorities of rapid and inclusive economic growth, poverty and hunger eradication, and climate sustainability.

Minister of Public Works, Housing, and Water Resources, Fernando Rafael, led the Mozambican delegation.

In Cape Town, Rafael reiterated the need for Mozambique to prioritize strategic investments that have a significant impact on communities.

On the first day of the summit, the Mozambican delegation presented two projects to investors: the Urban Sanitation, Drainage and Solid Waste Project for the Municipality of Inhambane, and the Artificial Aquifer Recharge and Underground Dam Construction Project in the Chire and Save River basins, which will benefit approximately 300,000 residents.

During the sessions held on Thursday, the second day of the event, in addition to participating in the summit’s thematic sessions, the Minister Rafael held a bilateral meeting with the Eswatini delegation led by Lonkhokhela Dlamini, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, with whom he discussed the Lomahacha-Namaacha project, which will ensure the construction of water supply infrastructure for both countries.

Fernando Rafael also met with former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, actively involved with the Global Water Partnership (GWP) as he serves as the founding Co-Chair of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments and is also the Chair of GWP Southern Africa and Africa Coordination Unit.

During the meeting, Rafael and Kikwete reviewed the steps Mozambique is taking in developing the National Water Sector Investment Program.

Jakaya Kikwete affirmed that his team would continue to support Mozambique in completing the plan and implementing projects that ensure water supply.

The Minister of Public Works, Housing, and Water Resources stated that Mozambique is committed to finding solutions to reduce asymmetries in water supply and is working with various partners and implementing reforms that will improve the sector’s performance.

The Water Investment Summit 2025 brought together heads of state, ministers, global investors, the private sector, and development institutions in a joint effort to close the US$30 billion annual investment gap in Africa’s water sector.

Approximately 80 priority water sector investments from 38 different African countries were presented during the three-day event.

The event culminated with the signing of a declaration to be presented during the G20 leaders’ summit at the African Union .

The Cape Town Declaration calls for Africa to be prioritized in global efforts to close the water investment gap and urges scaling up domestic financing, both public and private, through national budgets and innovative funding mechanisms.

Preliminary projections from investment pipelines presented at the summit suggest potential inflows of US$10 to US$12 billion annually from development banks, investors, bilateral partners, and African governments, excluding additional pledges yet to be confirmed.

The United Arab Emirates and Senegal, co-hosts of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, were tasked with integrating the declaration into the event’s preparations. South Africa, holding the Group of 20 Presidency, will present it for endorsement at the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2026.

Source: Notícias with Xinhua