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By Tracy Moses
Trade unions and civil society organizations (CSOs) from Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda have raised strong concerns over the increasing wave of privatization of public utilities by African governments, warning that the policy shift has significantly eroded the quality of essential services such as electricity, water supply, and waste management.
The alarm was sounded during the ongoing two-day 2025 Regional Meeting of the PSI-DGB Project in Africa, which commenced Wednesday in Abuja on Wednesday, 7th May 2025, Nigeria’s capital. Stakeholders at the meeting contended that privatization has led to systemic service failures and further impoverished the majority.
The forum, jointly supported by Public Services International (PSI) and DGB Bildungswerk, provides a platform for trade unions and CSOs across the continent to share experiences and strategies in resisting anti-people economic reforms and to foster cross-country learning.
One of the major talking points at the meeting was the Nigerian government’s proposal to inject a staggering N4 trillion into the power sector as a bailout, a move that drew sharp criticism from participants.
Delivering a presentation on “The Overview and Impact of Privatization on the Public and Workers in Electricity, Water, and Waste Sectors in Africa,” Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), lambasted the bailout plan, describing it as rewarding failure.
He argued that the privatization of Nigeria’s electricity sector since 2013 has failed to deliver results, pointing out that power generation has remained stagnant at around 4,000 megawatts, exactly where it was over a decade ago.
“Nigeria’s power sector privatization has brought nothing but darkness,” Jakpor said. “We are still grappling with outrageous tariffs, persistent national grid collapses, and negligible improvements in electricity supply. This N4 trillion bailout is not just unjustifiable, it’s a call to resistance. We must mobilize to stop further privatization of essential services.”
He called for a strengthened coalition of civil society groups and organized labor to mount collective opposition against such government actions, especially in critical public service sectors.
Also speaking, Comrade Waheed Sikiru, General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), decried the continent’s overreliance on foreign economic prescriptions.
He lamented that Africa, despite being endowed with immense natural resources, remains ensnared in poverty due to poor leadership and external influence over domestic policymaking.
“We’re sitting on gold, yet our people wallow in poverty,” Sikiru said. “The tragedy is that our leaders continue to take instructions from foreign powers. They dictate what policies to implement, even when those policies, like privatization, are clearly detrimental to our people. It’s a new form of colonization.”
In his address, Daniel Oberko, Regional Secretary of Public Services International (PSI), reiterated PSI’s opposition to the commodification of essential services. He stated that the meeting underscores the collective resolve to challenge privatization in all forms.
“Privatization is marketed as efficient but in reality, it deepens inequality, fuels exploitation, and excludes the poor,” Oberko declared. “It transforms basic human rights, like access to water, healthcare, education, and waste services, into luxuries only the wealthy can afford.”
He urged African countries to rethink their development models and put the needs of citizens above profit motives.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has confirmed plans to urgently tackle the N4 trillion debt weighing down the country’s power generation sector. This follows a high-level meeting in Abuja between Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu and representatives of Nigeria’s Electricity Generating Companies (GenCos).
According to a statement issued by Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations to the Minister of Power, the bailout is intended to settle longstanding debts owed to GenCos and stabilize the power sector.