After the independence of the Republic of Namibia on 21 March 1990 the new Government made a reassessment of the validity of the Namibian Water Master Plan that was originally developed in 1973 and called for the eventual importation of water from the perennial rivers on the northern and southern borders of Namibia into the arid interior of Namibia. 
  
This need was confirmed, but Namibia became a sovereign State, and it was realized that the plans made under the South African Administration to abstract water from the Cunene, the Okavango, and the Zambezi in the north of Namibia and the Orange in the south, had to be discussed and negotiated with the other sovereign riparian States whose territories covered parts of those river basins.

At that time it was perceived that the best possible means to start with such a dialogue was to propose the establishment of technical water commissions that could study water development projects and advise the respective Governments about the most appropriate course of future action.

This policy led to the re-instatement of the Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC) between Angola and Namibia on the Cunene River in September 1990 and the establishment of the Joint Permanent Water Commission (JPWC) between Botswana and Namibia on water matters of mutual interest.

This included of course the Okavango, the Zambezi, groundwater and other water related issues such as environmental protecprotection of the Kwando – Linyanti – Chobe river system through the joint Salvinia Molesta (Kariba weed) control program. 

My association with the future Permanent Okavango Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) dates back to the beginning of 1991 when I was requested to prepare a draft agreement for the establishment of a water commission on the Okavango River. 

An opportunity arose to discuss the possibility to establish such a commission when the PJTC and the JPTC had meetings in the same week in Windhoek in June 1991.   

At both meetings the Namibian Delegation suggested that the possibility to establish a new water commission on the Okavango should be discussed between the Parties and due to the fact that all three Parties involved had a interest in the future development of the Okavango, time was made to fit in a joint meeting between the Parties. 

The principle to establish a water commission was agreed upon and the draft agreement was accepted as a basis for further negotiation. 

After a number of meetings by a drafting team, the document was finalized and the Agreement to establish the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission was signed on 14 September 1994 in Windhoek by the respective Honourable Ministers responsible for water matters in Angola and Namibia and the High Commissioner of Botswana in Namibia, on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Botswana.

Some small history was also made at that time because, as far as I know, the OKACOM Agreement was the first, and most probably up to now, the only agreement of this nature in Southern Africa that was signed by a woman on behalf of her country.