OKACOM 6th Ministers Forum Meeting Held Virtually

OKACOM  Secretariat recently hosted a virtual  Forum of Ministers Meeting which was held on 14 October 2021. The Forum of Ministers is the highest executive organ of OKACOM, tasked with the approval of policy and political issues associated with the implementation of the OKACOM mandate.  The meeting brought together the Ministers responsible for water from each of the three riparian countries, OKACOM Commissioners, Okavango Basin Steering Committee (OBSC) members and OKACOM Secretariat staff.  The key objectives of the meeting were to review of progress in the implementation of the OKACOM Strategic Action Programme, decisions of the last meeting held in September 2019 and most importantly to consider recommendations from the Council of Commissioners on the pertinent issues for effective running of the Commission. The 6th meeting was chaired by Honourable Joao Borges,  the Minister of Energy and Water of the Republic of Angola, who in his opening remarks commended the opportunity for the three riparian countries to be able to engage. "It is commendable that the three countries have benefited from projects being implemented by OKACOM regarding shared water resources, in terms of the vision of economically just & environmentally sustainable Basin"  he noted.

During the meeting the Executive Secretary of OKACOM, Phera Ramoeli offered key highlights of progress, milestones and scope of collaborations with international cooperation partners supporting projects implemented across the Cubango-Okavango River Basin. The three Ministers actively engaged and deliberated on key decisions regarding governance, finances and strategic direction of OKACOM. “Through Commissions such as OKACOM we are able to cooperate with regards to water usage, rivers  and groundwater resources, ensuring that countries receive a fair share of this scarce shared resource" noted Honourable Calle Schlettwein, the Minister of Agriculture Water & Land Reform of Namibia. 

The discussions also brought about the opportunity to reflect on challenges regarding the implementation of programmes in the CORB, the relevant avenues for mitigating risks and most importantly key directives and recommendations from the Ministers. "Let me thank the team working to ensure our river basin resources are well protected, sustainably used & planned for using informed decision-making process." stated Honourable Kefentse Mzwinila, the Minister of Land Management and Sanitation Services of Botswana. The meeting also presented an opportunity for updates each of the countries, such as the recent appointment of  Namibia as Chair to the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW).Closing of the meeting, the Ministers agreed to key action points for the Commissions implementation and on the date of the next meeting as June 2022.