South Africa wants equitable management of water resources shared with Mozambique

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South Africa wants equitable management of water resources shared with Mozambique

4:55 CAT | 23 Nov 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

South Africa wants equitable management of water resources shared with Mozambique, particularly along the Komati river and in the Maputo river basin, a South African ministerial source told Lusa on Wednesday.

In this regard, South African Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu will meet his Mozambican counterpart Carlos Mesquita in Malelane, in the South African municipality of Nkomazi, in the east of the country, this Thursday and Friday, said the minister’s spokeswoman Kamogelo Mogotsi.

“It is a meeting that should have taken place a long time ago, also to strengthen cooperation and existing bilateral relations between the two countries within the framework of what we call the joint water commission regarding the agreement that was signed in 1996,” Mogotsi explained in statements to Lusa.

“There is the Komati River (Incomáti in Mozambique) and the Maputo River basin that the two countries share, and so it is basically ensuring that there is an equitable use of these specific resources between the two countries,” she added.

READ: Mozambique: ARA-Sul warns of flood risk in Matutuíne as SA dam increases discharges

At the two-day meeting in the South African province of Mpumalanga, which borders Mozambique to the east, Pretoria also intends to learn about the measures developed and implemented by the Mozambican government in the last 20 years under the agreement between the two countries.

“The strategies developed and what Mozambicans have done since then in terms of their water resources, perhaps projects we can learn from, and the meeting is not necessarily confined to shared water resources, but also finding the best way for us to work together as African countries to ensure that there is sustainable water for the next generations,” the ministerial spokesperson told Lusa.

This will be the first ministerial-level meeting between the two countries since Senzo Mchunu took office on August 5, 2021.

READ: Mozambique and Eswatini positively assess cooperation on shared river basins

The two delegations will visit the Driekoppies dam, in Schoemansdal, Nkomazi municipality, on Thursday afternoon. The discussions will culminate in the signing of a joint declaration on cooperation between the two countries on Friday, according to a note from the South African government.

Source: Lusa