Eight member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) who share the Zambezi River basin are this month set to sign an agreement that will see the formation of the Zambezi River Commission (ZAMCOM) expected to promote equitable and sustainable utilisation of water resources.

The commission is also expected to promote efficient management and sustainable development among the riparian states of Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The agreement, to be signed on 13 July in Kasane, Botswana, is the culmination of negotiations that date back to the 1980s. These talks however, had to give way to negotiations on the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses, which was signed in 1995 and revised and signed by SADC leaders in 2000. The negotiations resumed in 2002.

ZAMCOM, as SADC Executive Secretary, Prega Ramsamy pointed out at a press briefing, “will play a critical role in ensuring balanced and harmonious development of the Zambezi Basin Water resources, with a view of preventing potential conflicts and ensuring adequate and effective benefit-sharing among all riparian states in particular, and in the SADC region at large”.

The agreement is testimony to SADC’s commitment to regional integration and promotion of effective cooperation in the management and development of water resources.

Among some of the functions of ZAMCOM will be:

• the collection, evaluation and dissemination of data and information on the Zambezi watercourse for implementation of the agreement;
• to promote, support, coordinate and harmonise management and development of the water resources of the Zambezi watercourse;
• advise member states of the planning, management, utilisation, development, protection and conservation of the Zambezi watercourse as well as on the role and position of the public with regard to such activities and the possible impact on social and cultural heritage matters;
• advise member states on measures necessary to avoid disputes and assist in the resolution of conflicts among member states with regard to the planning, management, utilisation, development, protection and conservation of the watercourse; and
• foster greater awareness among the inhabitants of the Zambezi watercourse of the equitable and reasonable utilisation and the efficient management and sustainable development of the resources of the watercourse.

In his foreword to the State of Environment in the Zambezi Basin 2000 book, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique noted that as the most shared resource in the SADC region, the basin provided a “litmus test in terms of meeting one of the objectives of the SADC Treaty”.

He highlighted the fact that Article 5 of the Treaty commits everyone to achieving sustainable utilisation of natural resources and effective protection of the environment. The signing of the ZAMCOM agreement by the eight SADC member states bears testimony to the region’s commitment to adhering to the SADC Treaty. ZAMCOM has set the region on a path towards partnership in development.

Addressing journalists on the establishment of ZAMCOM, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Boometswe Mokgothu said that shared river basins could be a source of conflict and political instability if states pursued narrow and parochial interests. In addition, the future scenario for SADC showed acute water shortages affecting the region.

“This is a situation, which if not properly managed, can easily degenerate into armed conflict. That is the reason why the riparian states have devoted themselves and committed substantial resources, with the appreciative support of the donor community, to establish regional institutions that will give effect to the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses,” he said.

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