Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
BY embracing sustainable water management, climate resilience, and inclusive development, Zimbabwe has a chance to position itself at the heart of Africa’s transformation agenda.
The continent has entered a decisive era.
Under the African Union’s 2026 theme of the year: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063” — nations are being called to place water security and sanitation at the centre of economic growth, public health, and sustainable development.
For Zimbabwe, the theme could not be more relevant.
Recurring droughts, climate change, urban water shortages, and rural sanitation challenges continue to test the nation’s resilience.
Yet these same challenges present immense opportunity.
Agenda 2063, the African Union’s long-term blueprint for “The Africa We Want”, envisions a prosperous, integrated, and peaceful continent driven by its own citizens.
Zimbabwe can contribute meaningfully to this vision by turning water security into a catalyst for industrialisation, agriculture, innovation, and human development.
No nation can industrialise, modernise agriculture, or achieve food security without reliable water systems.
Across Zimbabwe, communities face water stress caused by erratic rainfall, ageing infrastructure, and rapid urbanisation.
In some cities, shortages have disrupted livelihoods, health services, and economic productivity.
The African union has emphasised that water and sanitation are no longer peripheral environmental concerns, but central pillars of economic transformation and climate resilience.
For Zimbabwe, this means investing in dams, water harvesting technologies, irrigation systems, and modern sanitation facilities must become a national priority.
Water is not just a resource — it is the foundation of progress.
By securing it, Zimbabwe can unlock education, health, industry, and agriculture, ensuring that the promise of Agenda 2063 becomes a lived reality for its people.
The rehabilitation of dams, expansion of irrigation schemes, and adoption of smart water technologies can transform Zimbabwe into a climate resilient agricultural powerhouse.
These investments will, not only safeguard food production. but also unlock new pathways for industrialisation, innovation, and rural prosperity.
At the same time, they will generate thousands of jobs for young people in engineering, agriculture, and environmental sciences — turning water security into a driver of both livelihoods and national development.
In a statement, the African union said: “Despite progress, millions of Africans still lack safe water and sanitation — a gap that undermines health, productivity, and human dignity. Climate change is intensifying water stress through droughts, floods, and hydrological disruptions. The 2026 theme responds to this urgent challenge, placing water security at the centre of Africa’s development and climate agenda.
“This moment presents a significant opportunity to drive transformative, climate resilient, and people centred investments in water and sanitation. It reinforces Africa’s commitment to sustainable development, equity, and resilience — ensuring that no one is left behind on the pathway to Agenda 2063.
“To achieve this, political leadership must be strengthened. Water and sanitation must be reaffirmed as critical enablers of industrialisation, health, peace, food systems, and climate resilience. Heads of State and Government must consolidate political will at the highest levels to elevate the value attached to water and drive implementation of the new Africa Water Vision 2063.”
Community development and public health consultant, Mr Regis Matimati, noted that Zimbabwe is on the right track in providing clean and safe water, while ongoing programmes continue to improve sanitation and hygiene in areas that still require attention.
“Zimbabwe has embraced this continental vision, using the AU theme as a springboard to modernise its water infrastructure and strengthen governance. Several flagship initiatives are underway, such as rural borehole drilling and solar powered systems. The Government is rolling out solar boreholes across districts and villages, providing clean drinking water and supporting small scale irrigation. New dams — including Marovanyati and Muchekeranwa — have been constructed, with more projects underway to address water challenges,” he said.
Added Mr Matimati: “Zimbabwe is also actively engaged in transboundary cooperation, working with Zambia and Mozambique on the management of the Zambezi River Basin. This collaboration strengthens regional water governance and helps reduce the risk of conflict over shared resources.
“At the same time, the country is advancing innovative financing partnerships. Through collaboration with the African Development Bank and other partners, Zimbabwe is mobilising resources to modernise its water infrastructure. New financing models — including climate bonds — are under consideration, offering sustainable ways to fund long term projects.
“On the ground, elaborate community and school Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives are ensuring that children have access to safe water and proper sanitation facilities. These efforts are improving both health and education outcomes, reinforcing the link between clean water, dignity, and opportunity.”
CEO Africa Roundtable chairman, Mr Oswel Binha, noted that Zimbabwe has elevated water and sanitation issues to the highest level, embedding them in the Constitution.
The State and its agencies are mandated to provide clean and safe water — not as a privilege, but as a fundamental human right.
“Zimbabwe has embraced the correct language. The Constitution recognises access to safe, clean, and potable water as a right. National development priorities speak to improved water supply, sanitation, irrigation, dam construction, and climate resilience. Government, local authorities, development partners, and communities all acknowledge that water and sanitation are essential to national development.
“The challenge, however, is that water availability is not assured. Supply remains intermittent and uncertain. Urban households frequently depend on boreholes, water vendors, storage tanks, and improvised systems. Sanitation is an even more worrying part of the equation. Public debate tends to focus on water supply, yet unsafe sanitation is one of the clearest signs of service delivery failure. Sewer bursts, blocked systems, poor wastewater treatment, inadequate public toilets, weak fecal sludge management, and poor sanitation in vulnerable communities expose Zimbabwe to preventable disease outbreaks, including cholera and typhoid,” he said.
Mr Binha challenged local authorities to raise their standards of service delivery by upgrading ageing water and sewer infrastructure and adequately financing WASH projects. He stressed that ensuring consumers pay for services must go hand in hand with guaranteeing that service quality is not compromised.
“Zimbabwe must resist the temptation to treat the AU theme as a ceremonial slogan. It should instead be used as a national audit. Are our cities supplying safe water daily? Are our sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants functioning? Are our schools and clinics properly served? Are boreholes being monitored for quality and sustainability? Are local authorities financially capable of delivering water and sanitation as basic services?
“Much of Zimbabwe’s urban water and sewer infrastructure is old, overstretched, and poorly maintained. Population growth has outpaced investment. Distribution networks leak heavily, and sewer systems in several towns and cities are no longer equal to demand. Without a comprehensive infrastructure renewal programme, water and sanitation will remain crisis managed rather than properly assured.
“Water systems require continuous investment, not occasional emergency funding. Local authorities often lack adequate revenue, while tariffs are politically sensitive and sometimes disconnected from the true cost of service delivery. At the same time, citizens are understandably reluctant to pay for unreliable services. There is need for a credible financing model that protects poor households, ring fences water revenues, improves billing, and ensures that money collected for water is reinvested into water systems,” he said.
