By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
AN IMMEDIATE end to intimidation targeting Comrade Oumar BA General Secretary of the International Human Rights Day (IHRD) has sparked heightened tension in Senegal water sector and set the stage for a forceful appeal from the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition.
The coalition states that repression inside Senegal water system has intensified, with the management of Senegalese water company SENEau sustaining what it describes as a campaign of intimidation against the General Secretary of the Autonomous Union of Water Workers of Senegal.
The coalition also notes that he serves as an affiliate of Public Services International and remains a respected member of its network.
It also declares that actions by SENEau violate fundamental trade union freedoms and basic human rights, adding that all punitive measures should stop at once and urges both the company and Senegalese authorities to respect lawful representation and uphold international labour standards.
Public Services International and Corporate Accountability join this position and stand with Comrade BA.
This latest ordeal arises after Comrade BA questioned an attempt by SENEau to negotiate a multi year agreement with representatives of three unions while leaving out SATES, the union he leads.
SATES is challenging in court a digital voting process that produced the election of trade union representatives in the company.
Workers state that the process breaks Senegal labour laws and lacks transparency stating that the coalition says Comrade BA now faces sanctions for refusing irregularities that the union contests.
The release notes that SENEau operates under the effective control of French private water company Suez as the coalition states that this reality adds to the imbalance between management and workers and frames the pressure confronting Comrade BA.
This situation unfolds on the eve of IHRD 2025 under the theme Human Rights Our Everyday Essentials stressing that water remains among the most essential elements of daily life and warns that rights deteriorate rapidly when control over water shifts to private actors with limited accountability.
It adds that a day dedicated to everyday essentials loses meaning when workers face punishment for exercising the rights such a day intends to honour.
The coalition states that conduct by SENEau exposes how fragile rights become when private interests govern public goods as it reports that consequences have already become serious.
Comrade BA began a hunger strike on November 28 following years of harassment and targeted attacks from company management.
The coalition says his circumstances reveal deepening despair inside SENEau and reflect a belief among workers that their rights and wellbeing are being traded away for a system of water governance driven by private power rather than public interest.
The deterioration inside the company echoes what communities across Senegal continue to describe as the release cites concerns about poor service delivery, rising costs and a gradual loss of trust under the privatised SENEau system.
It adds that harmful effects linked to privatised water arrangements extend beyond Dakar and appear in other privately run schemes across the country.
The coalition also notes that even with the crisis, an opportunity for change remains.
Major rural water contracts will expire in 2027 and 2028, and Senegal has a chance to reassess its water governance and restore accountability by placing decision making power back in the hands of communities and workers who rely on water as a public resource rather than a corporate asset.
Emphasising its full alignment with Comrade BA, with SATES and with all Senegal water workers who resist giving up their rights to a process that aims to weaken democratic participation and place power in hands that have already failed the public, the coalition states.
It lists a set of immediate demands that include an end to all disciplinary and retaliatory actions against Comrade BA, the withdrawal of threats and intimidation toward water workers and the cancellation of the digital election that workers and unions have challenged.
It says this election has cast a long shadow over the sector and calls for procedures that respect Senegalese labour law and added that SENEau must open the way for transparent and lawful dialogue with legitimately elected representatives, including SATES, whose mandate it states cannot be erased by administrative actions.
The group also calls for urgent medical care and strong protection for Comrade BA, stating that his wellbeing has become a matter of national and moral concernwarns that Human Rights Day will carry little meaning if individuals who defend public accountability face attacks for doing so.
Collective signatures from Water Citizens Network Revenue Mobilisation Africa Ghana, Public Service International Africa and Arab Region, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa Nigeria, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association Kenya BIBA Kenya, Disability Not a Barrier Initiative Nigeria, Cheriehomes Global Initiatives Nigeria, Africa Water Justice Network, Voices for Water Zimbabwe, Senegalese Water Justice Network Senegal, Syndicat National Autonome des Travailleurs de l Energie de l Eau et des Mines du Cameroun SYNATEEC Cameroon, African Centre for Advocacy Cameroon, Corporate Accountability USA and La Confederation des Syndicats Aitonomes du Senegal CSA Sen, attested to the concerns.
