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Harare, Zimbabwe

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Zambezi Ministers Adopt Data and information Sharing Rules

Harare 4 March, 2016 – The Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) Council of Ministers has, in a landmark decision, adopted Rules and Procedures for the Sharing of Data and Information related to the Management of the Zambezi Watercourse. The overall objective of the Rules and Procedures is to give effect to the provisions on data and information sharing in the ZAMCOM Agreement in order to ensure that water-related data and information are shared effectively and efficiently in support of planning, management, development; and informed decision making in the Zambezi basin.

This happened during the recent ZAMCOM Council of Ministers meeting held in Gaborone, Botswana. The Council of Ministers met in ordinary session to provide policy guidance; receive updates; approve annual accounts of the Commission; approve work plans and budgets; and consider recommendations from the ZAMCOM Technical Committee (ZAMTEC).

At the same meeting, Botswana handed over the rotating chairpersonship to Mozambique who will serve as chair until the next ordinary session of Council in February, 2017.

When handing over the chair, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Hon. Onkokame Kitso Mokaila underscored the importance of ZAMCOM and the management of the Zambezi watercourse as a shared resource particularly during a time when the effects of climate change were wreaking havoc in Southern Africa.

In taking over the Chair, Mozambique’s Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Hon. Carlos Bonete Martinho commended Botswana for their leadership during the preceding year. He reiterated the importance of ZAMCOM as an important vehicle and forum for the harmonious socioeconomic development of the region.

ZAMCOM is a river basin organization set up through the ZAMCOM Agreement by the eight riparian states that share the Zambezi River Basin. ZAMCOM promotes and coordinates the cooperative management and development of the Zambezi Watercourse in a sustainable and climate resilient manner. The eight riparian states are Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The ZAMCOM agreement was signed in 2004 at Kasane in Botswana and came into force in 2011. The ZAMCOM Secretariat is based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

As part of its activities, the Secretariat is expected to develop a Strategic Plan for the Zambezi Watercourse. The plan will facilitate the coordinated and cooperative management and development of the water resources of the basin. The plan will also be used as a reliable and accepted basis for decision making on investments.

The Secretariat is also expected to operationalise other key provisions of the ZAMCOM Agreement. Some of the key provisions include rules of notification on planned measures or programmes and projects; the collection and dissemination of information and data in support of improved planning and decision making for the sustainable management and development of the basin; and fostering greater awareness among the inhabitants of the Zambezi Watercourse on the equitable and reasonable utilisation and the efficient management and sustainable development of the resources of the basin.

For More Information, Contact:

The ZAMCOM Secretariat, 128 Samora Machel Avenue, P.O. Box CY 118, Harare, Zimbabwe. Tel: +263 – 4 – 253361/2/3; Voip: +263 8677000313. Email: zamcom@zambezicommission.org or leonissah@zambezicommission.org; website: www.zambezicommission.org