19 March 2024, Musina, South Africa
Limpopo River Basin Member States have signed an endorsement to the Amendment of the LIMCOM Agreement to formalize the establishment of the Council of Ministers as the LIMCOM’s main policy and decision-making body on transboundary water resources development and management issues in the Limpopo basin. Ministers responsible for Water Affairs from the Republics of Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe made the historic endorsement on 14 March 2024 in Musina, South Africa
Article 4 of the LIMCOM Agreement signed in November 2003 did not initially include the Council of Ministers. Therefore, the formalization of the Council of Ministers as the main policy body will improve Water Resources Management and governance of the Limpopo River Basin. It will also foster closer cooperation for judicious, sustainable, and coordinated management, protection, and utilization of shared watercourses in line with the 2000 Revised SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses.
The Council of Ministers will among other functions oversee the implementation of plans, programmes, and projects of the Commission, as well as approve the plans, programmes, and projects to be developed and implemented by the LIMCOM Secretariat and conclude any agreements with Contracting Parties, other States, institutions, or international organizations.
Following the endorsement of the Amendment of the LIMCOM Agreement by the Ministers, Member States will now, as stipulated in Article 12.4 of the LIMCOM Agreement initiate the Exchange of Notes. The Exchange of Notes will be done through Diplomatic Channels and will be initiated by the Republic of Zimbabwe, as agreed by the Member States.
Speaking soon after signing the endorsement document, LIMCOM Ministers said the occasion marks a giant step in the history of LIMCOM and shows that Member States are committed to serving the people living in the Limpopo Basin.
“Today we have reached another milestone in the history of LIMCOM. The inclusion of the Council of Ministers as the main decision-making body will improve the operations of the LIMCOM and its Secretariat,” South African Minister for Water and Sanitation, Hon. Minister Senzo Mchunu said.
Dr. Carlos Alberto Fortes Mesquita, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources in Mozambique said the people of the basin are the ultimate winners as LIMCOM would now better serve its stakeholders. “We have all made history and should continue to serve the people that live in the basin,” Hon. Minister Carlos Mesquita said.
Zimbabwean Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Hon. Dr. Anxious Masuka concurred and paid tribute to the four LIMCOM countries for seeing water as a source of cooperation rather than conflict. “I want to thank all the four LIMCOM Riparian States for having risen to the occasion to improve the governance of LIMCOM. Water is a source of life and cooperation,” Hon. Minister Dr Masuka.
A representative from the Republic of Botswana, Mr. Nchidzi Mmolawa said “the amendment of the LIMCOM Agreement is a good development for the basin as it enhances decision-making and ensures that the governance of LIMCOM is at the highest level.”
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LIMCOM
The Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) was established through the LIMCOM Agreement signed in November 2003 by the four Member States — Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe — in Maputo, Mozambique. The main objective of LIMCOM is to advise and “provide recommendations on the uses of the Limpopo, its tributaries and its waters for purposes and measures of protection, preservation and management of the Limpopo.” LIMCOM is headquartered in Maputo.
The Limpopo River Basin
The Limpopo River Basin (LRB) is one of the major river basins in southern Africa, and it is shared by four countries namely Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The catchment area of the LRB is estimated at 412,000 km² and the basin has a population of over 18 million people. The river flows north from South Africa, where it creates the border between South Africa and Botswana and then the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, before crossing into Mozambique and draining into the Indian Ocean. The basin supports diverse socio-economic activities in the four Riparian States including agro-industry, large-scale irrigation, rain-fed subsistence agriculture, mining, eco-tourism, and hosts some of the world’s foremost protected areas and biodiversity hotspots.
First published by: clubofmozambique
