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File photo / Zambezi river
The governments of Zambezi river basin countries Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, Angola and Malawi, last Thursday committed themselves in the Mozambican city of Tete to defining strategies for equitable and rational use of the water resources of the Zambezi watercourse, as well as efficient management and sustainable development in member states.
The understanding comes as part of the 4th international meeting of members of the Council of Ministers of the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM).
The commitment was expressed during the speeches on the occasion of the passing of the rotating annual ZAMCOM chairmanship from Mozambique to Namibia by latter’s John Mutorua and the Mozambican Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Carlos Bonete Martinho.
John Mutorua said that he had received the portfolios from Carlos Bonete, and that ZAMCOM member countries needed to have strategic projects since Zambezi water guaranteed the lives of populations, animals and plants along its banks.
Mutorua warned that the irrational use of water resources contributed to the depletion of water and would soon put the lives of people, animals and plants, both of this and of future generations, at risk. “The Namibian presidency will do everything in its power to bring the ship safely home to port for the duration of its mandate just beginning, with the full support of member states,” he said.
Carlos Bonete Martinho said that the results of cooperation between ZAMCOM member countries were already apparent and would translate into a growing momentum in the coordination and sharing of hydrological information for the benefit of Zambezi river basin communities.
“When we took over the presidency of the Zambezi Basin Commission in February last year in Botswana, we recognized the privilege and responsibility it represented for Mozambique in the face of such an honourable and dignified task,” he said.
Bonete said that along the way, “we learned that it is undeniable that cooperation in the shared management of the Zambezi Basin is a lever to drive the development of the basin and a factor in the prevention of conflicts, so the Zambezi Basin Commission is one of the central pillars of the socioeconomic and sustainable development of the riparian countries”.
Tete governor Paulo Auade, hosting a ZAMCOM meeting for the first time, challenged members to intensify effective and efficient measures for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of the water resources of the Southern Africa region, so that they would serve generations to come.
In his opening address, Auade said: “The Zambezi basin is an important source of water, not only for the province of Tete, but also for the entire Zambezi valley region, and we recognize the need to conserve, protect and sustainably use its resources so that their use in the future is also guaranteed.”
“I would also like to commend ZAMCOM on choosing our province to host this meeting. This province is totally within the Zambezi basin, making up about 70 percent of the basin area in Mozambique.”
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