Water That Unites: SA and Lesotho’s Highlands Partnership Leads Africa’s Year of Water

When the African Union declared 2026 the year of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems”, it elevated water from a service-delivery concern to a continental priority. And South Africa has a head start – because one of Africa’s best examples of water cooperation flows right into Gauteng’s taps.

Writing for SAnews, the Government Communication and Information System’s Shadi Motau highlights how South Africa is turning continental commitments into real action at home and across borders.

The Highlands example

South Africa’s partnership with the Kingdom of Lesotho through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project shows what shared water resources can achieve. The project generates hydropower benefits for Lesotho while transferring water through a network of dams and tunnels to South Africa’s Vaal River System – the water backbone of Gauteng and its surrounding economic heartland.

It is a practical demonstration that rivers do not respect borders, and that neighbours who plan together prosper together. Regional cooperation of this kind strengthens water security, supports economic activity and improves livelihoods on both sides of the mountain kingdom’s border.

From continental vision to local taps

The Africa Water Vision 2063 seeks a resilient continent where sustainable water and safe sanitation are accessible to all – feeding directly into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 on universal access to clean water. South Africa is translating that agenda into domestic action through the National Water Action Plan, a framework for tackling infrastructure constraints, water security, institutional capacity and the reliability of water services.

At the end of July, President Cyril Ramaphosa carried the message to the First Ordinary Session of the Seventh Legislature of the Pan-African Parliament, underscoring that access to clean water and safe sanitation is fundamental to human dignity, public health and Africa’s long-term development.

Water security is women’s empowerment

With South Africa commemorating Women’s Month, the piece makes a powerful point: water security is not gender neutral. In many communities, women and girls carry the responsibility of securing water for their households. Every tap installed closer to home, and every sanitation system upgraded, returns hours, dignity, safety and economic opportunity to women – which is why government insists women must have a meaningful voice in how water is planned, managed and governed.

The message is clear and hopeful: from SDG 6 to Agenda 2063 to the National Water Action Plan, the frameworks are aligned, the flagship projects are proven, and the task now is delivery. Africa’s water future, as Motau writes, will be secured through investment, innovation, regional cooperation and partnerships that put communities at the centre – and South Africa is helping lead the way.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org