RSE and Water in Africa: From Declaration to Imperative

At the National Days on Quality Management and Corporate Social Responsibility (NDQM), François Olivier Gosso, Executive Director of the African Water and Sanitation Association (AAEA), delivered an unambiguous plea: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the water sector is no longer a strategic option it is a structural necessity.
The figures speak for themselves. Across Africa, nearly 400 million people remain without access to safe drinking water, and 800 million lack basic sanitation. Water underpins health, education, gender equality and economic growth, and every dollar invested in this sector can generate up to twelve dollars in returns. To this end, the social responsibility of sector operators can no longer remain a mere token commitment.
Operators such as SODECI in Côte d'Ivoire, SEN'EAU in Senegal and ONEE in Morocco demonstrate that CSR performance and economic viability are not in opposition they reinforce one another. It is clear that Africa's water and sanitation sector is entering an era of assumed responsibility, in which accountability is also an act of sovereignty.