WINDHOEK – Namibia has urged the African Ministers’ Council of Water (AMCOW) to ensure AMCOW, in word and deed, soon becomes the principal inter-governmental body on water and sanitation issues in Africa.
Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) John Mutorwa made the statement on Saturday when he addressed the 9th General Assembly of AMCOW in Dakar, Senegal. He said it is Namibia’s position that once the aforementioned is achieved, it will enhance the required communication, coordination, cooperation, consultation and constructive compromises when required between AMCOW and the AU’s designated organisational structures. Those structures he said include the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, the AU Executive Council, as well as the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. “Namibia would like to re-emphasise and restate its unshakable commitment to support AMCOW’s objectives of promoting cooperation, security, social and economic development and poverty eradication among members states through the prudent and judicious management of water resources and water supply services,” Mutorwa told delegates, who included AMCOW’s interim president, Nigerian minister of water resources Sarah Reng-Ochekpe and AMCOW’s executive secretary, Bai-Mass Taal.
Mutorwa further told delegates that Namibia, as a semi-arid country wedged between two deserts, deeply values international cooperation with other countries and the judicious and sustainable management of precious water resources.
He also reiterated Namibia’s unambiguous and principled support of AMCOW’s mission statement to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable economic development and the preservation of Africa’s diverse ecosystems.
According to Mutorwa there is still too much duplication and a lack of coordination between African countries, because the accountability and reporting lines are blurred and unclear.
By Deon Schlechter