ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) joins the people of Zimbabwe, the African continent, and the global community in commemorating Africa Day, a significant occasion that celebrates Africa’s rich history, resilience, unity, and the collective aspirations for justice, dignity, peace, sustainable development, and human rights.
This year’s African Union theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” highlights the critical importance of access to clean water and sanitation as foundational to sustainable development, public health, environmental justice, human dignity, and the realisation of socio-economic rights across the continent.
ZLHR reiterates that access to safe and clean water, adequate sanitation, and a healthy environment are fundamental human rights that are essential to the enjoyment of other rights, including the rights to health, life, education, development, and dignity. The lack of reliable water and sanitation systems disproportionately affects vulnerable and marginalised communities, particularly women, children, persons with disabilities, and those living in underserved rural and urban areas.
As Africa commemorates this important day, many communities across the continent, including in Zimbabwe, continue to face water shortages, inadequate sanitation infrastructure, pollution, environmental degradation, climate-related challenges, and inequalities in access to essential public services. These challenges not only undermine public health and livelihoods, but also deepen poverty, inequality, and social exclusion.
Recent developments in Zimbabwe underscore the urgency of this year’s theme. On 15 May 2026, the Ministry of Health and Child Care confirmed cholera cases in Zvishavane after weeks of severe water shortages had exposed the community to preventable health risks. In Kuimba Shiri Pvt Ltd v City of Harare, the High Court entered judgment in litigation arising from the ongoing contamination of Lake Chivero, where raw sewage continues to be discharged daily into the capital’s principal water source. In Bulawayo, water rationing remains in force despite improving dam levels, while in Penhalonga, mercury contamination at Lake Alexander which supplies nearly a quarter of Mutare’s drinking water has been recorded at levels almost forty‑five times the national safety threshold due to largely unregulated artisanal gold mining.
ZLHR notes that the right to safe, clean, and potable water is guaranteed under section 77 and places an obligation on the State to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right. Ensuring sustainable water availability and sanitation systems therefore requires transparent governance, accountability, environmental protection, equitable resource distribution, and meaningful public participation in decision-making processes.
The vision of Agenda 2063 and a prosperous, inclusive, and rights-respecting Africa cannot be realised without prioritising environmental justice, sustainable development, and equal access to essential services. Governments must place people at the centre of development policies and ensure that no community is left behind.
As Africa commemorates Africa Day 2026, ZLHR reiterates that sustainable development, human dignity, and social justice are inseparable from equitable access to clean water, safe sanitation, and a healthy environment. Protecting these rights is essential to building a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous Africa envisioned under Agenda 2063.
In light of the foregoing, ZLHR calls on government to:
- Prioritise investment in sustainable water infrastructure and safe sanitation systems, particularly in underserved communities;
- Strengthen environmental protection measures and ensure accountability for activities that threaten water sources and public health;
- Promote transparent, rights-based, and inclusive governance in the management and distribution of water resources;
- Ensure equal access to clean water and sanitation for women, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalised communities; and
- Uphold constitutional and international obligations relating to socio-economic rights, environmental rights, and sustainable development.
- Investigate and prosecute industrial polluters of Lake Chivero and other surface and groundwater sources in accordance with the Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27] and the polluter‑pays principle;
- Halt the issuance of new mining licences in water catchment areas pending publication of environmental impact assessments and evidence of meaningful consultation with affected communities.
ENDS
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Kodzero/Amalungelo House
No. 103 Sam Nujoma Street, Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 242 764085/705370/708118
Email: info@zlhr.org
www.zlhr.org.zw
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