CONTEXT
Access to water and sanitation is a major international issue. The lack of access to those basic services is indeed the first cause of death in the world: “The number of people deprived of a suitable access to drinking water is estimated to 1.1 billion, and the number of people deprived of sanitation to 2.6 billion.”
In light of this, the international community adopted in 2000 the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The aim is to halve the percentage of the population that does not have access to the supply of drinking water and to basic sanitation services by 2015.
In spite of an important international mobilization and the establishment of specific action programmes, as the deadline set by the MDGs gets nearer, the review is alarming: “Though in most regions of the world the aim to halve the population that does not have access neither to water nor to sanitation will be reached between 2015 and 2020, Africa on the other hand remains far from it. (...) The MDG for sanitation should not be reached before 2076[1]...”
In this regard, aware of international, social and environmental issues bond to the lack of access to water and sanitation, we wish to contribute, modestly but actively, to the achievement of MDGs. The SPGE, within the framework of its public service mission and thanks to its experience, can provide expertise.
OUR APPROACH
The SPGE launched its international activities in 2011. Our goal and our approach are based on the following principles:
We are convinced that water services must be provided by efficient public organisations. The transfer of skills to foreign public companies is perfectly in line with this philosophy. We want to promote the public model of water management. We base our action on non-profit public/public partnerships covering expenses, which, in the current circumstances, is undoubtedly a powerful argument with international donors and associated countries.
We want to contribute to enhancing the value of the Walloon know-how in wastewater treatment. Developing our international activities could open new investment opportunities and give positive economic benefits, for public Walloon companies (OAAs, ...) as well as for private companies of the sector eager to export internationally.