Message

Delivered by
Atty. Samuel Kofi Woods, II
Minister of Public Works,
Republic of Liberia
on behalf of
H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Africa’s Goodwill Ambassador on Water and Sanitation
10 General Assembly of African Ministers’ Council on Water & the 4th Africa
th

Water Week, 14th -18th May 2012

Cairo, Egypt
May 15, 2012

Mr. Chairman
Excellencies;
Honorable Ministers;
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen:

I am honoured to speak to you on behalf of Her Excellency, Madam

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia and Africa’s Goodwill
Ambassador on Water and Sanitation. She conveys her greetings but
regret her absence due to urgent domestic obligations.
After surviving a decade, I believe this gathering holds great promise
for the poorest and marginalized people of Africa. Emerging from
Washington DC and reinvigorated by the very successful encounter
with Ministers of Finance, Planning, Development Cooperation and our
Partners, we can exploit the historical ambience of Egypt: the enigma
of the Nile River, ancient civilization and its aqueduct to respond to the
urgency of water supply, management and use in Africa. This setting
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provides the aura to indulge in real thinking on how we can quench
AFRICA’S THIRST. With the abundance of water and rainfall Africa
is still thirsty!
We have made commitments to engage with national processes and
institutions to give higher priority to water and sanitation, stimulate
resource mobilisation, address equity and target the poor, provide
strong leadership and assign clear roles and responsibilities, develop
national sector plans and undertake annual monitoring among the
others.
These commitments are really not new in some sense but they show a
strong leadership and drive by our leaders to do something about the
sanitation and water crisis as about 300 million people still lack access
to safe water and sanitation in Africa. This is an unacceptable number.
The challenge is even more serious with increasing urban population
and poverty in rural areas.
In April, the meeting in Washington DC set the stage for budgetary
sensitivity and refocused attention on public investment in water and
sanitation. This now requires individual and collective action to ensure
that we follow through on these commitments and design a mechanism
to monitor and evaluate implementation.
Cairo, our own African Soil, must do more than Washington DC. We
must keep the momentum. We must now deliver. The message is
simple. In the midst of abundance and plenty our people remain thirsty.
As we take stock of 10 years of stewardship of AMCOW, we can look
back with pride on our achievements and how far we have come but let
us turn our conscience to the millions that are still without access to
safe water and improved sanitation services. These people are waiting
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for us and every 20 seconds one of them will drop dead. We cannot
delay any further.
As I join you in these celebrations, let me indulge in few reflections:

 The need for Greater decentralization and regionalization

Historically, geographic boundaries have been defined by waterways.

Common tribes, common languages, religion and families find
themselves on different shores. We must therefore place the issue of
water management and use on the agenda of regional institutions. The
West African States (ECOWAS), Central Africa, South and North Africa
must ensure that this is place on their agenda for action. Regional
investment in water and sanitation will accelerate economic growth and
produce a win-win effect.

We must ensure full local ownership and participation to promote

innovation in this sector. Rural women and children continue to
experience infant mortality. The care, survival and development of our
children continue to be impaired by the lack of access to water and
sanitation.

 The need to monitor public investment in the sector and promote

public-private partnership.

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Public and budgetary investment in this sector will improve health,
agriculture, education, irrigation, energy, infrastructures and other
sectors. We must not neglect investment in sanitation and hygiene.
Political leaders must realize that political commitment in this sector
is critical to overall economic growth and development.

 The need to promote south-south exchanges. We must

strengthen south-south cooperation to share ideas, lessons
learnt, academic research in this area. Education, training and
awareness remain critical to advancing our goals. This will build
our capacity, create jobs and strengthen our economies. In
March this year, Liberia and Sierra Leone initiated discussions
and exchanges. In Liberia, we have commenced the
establishment of a single national framework, completed an
investment plan and finalized a compact on the WASH sector.
Liberia is committed to accelerating this process to ensure that
real benefits are enjoyed by our people. Much more needs to be
done and we need your support.

 Water is life. This fulfils a principle of universality. This makes the

issue of water a case for human rights and social justice. Equity,
fairness and justice are at the heart of development. We must
ensure that it is accessible, affordable, and available and we must
account for investment in this sector.

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Mr. Chairman, dear friends, Africa has come a long way. The
apologies, denials, regrets and excuses of slavery and colonialism, the
independence struggle, the civil wars, search for peace and conflict
resolution, human rights, women rights, children rights and greater
democratization have been experienced. We are today confronted with
the issue of water. We will all be culprits if we fail to respond with
urgency to this great need. We must act collectively and act now.

The Good will Ambassador wants me to say NO WILL IS GOOD

WITHOUT ACTION. History will be made by those who summon the
courage to do what is right.

Commitments made by various Governments must now be translated

into a full and defined plan of action, timelines and a system for
monitoring must be designed.

Mr. Chairman, let me congratulate you on your preferment. Let me

congratulate secretariat and the Executive Secretary for their
performance, the past leadership of AMCOW and challenge the new
leadership that the job has just begun. We are grateful to our partners
for their support.

I would like to repeat what I said in Washington DC. Far away from
where we sit today, a mother and child wait for us to return home with a
clear plan on how our leadership and commitment will save them and
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give them a future of hope and promise. A sick child suffering from
water borne disease hopes that another child will not suffer similar fate.
They are waiting for safe drinking water and safe sanitation. This
meeting/conference must offer them a new deal from analysis to
concrete action! We must not shatter their dreams! Each of us must
leave this meeting knowing that our work is to safe lives like a doctor in
an emergency theatre.

Water is life, sanitation is dignity and hygiene is good health.

I wish you well! May God bless you.

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