A bilateral meeting with Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and Minister of Energy and Water Development from Zambia, Dora Siliya was held on 14 January 2016 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand to discuss possible future partnerships on water development.
Minister Dora Siliya was appointed in October 2015 after Zambia Ministry of Energy and Water Development was just separated from the Mines, Energy and Water Development portfolio in September 2015.
Zambia just like any country in SADC is also affected by drought. Water supply in urban areas is intermittent, with a supply of 16 hours per day on average. The highest intermittency has been measured in the small Luapula Utility with 6 hours per day. The only utility providing continuous supply was in Chipata and the North-western Water and Sewerage Company.
As part of discussions held, Minister Mokonyane shared her experiences in the field of water development as well water for growth and development.
Future partnerships between the two ministries are set to develop where both ministries can share knowledge and best practices on how to deal with water development as a key issue that Zambia is currently dealing with.
South Africa is keen to get water from Zambezi in the near future, to be able to augment water supply to Limpopo Region. There has been a lot of discussions and engagement in this regard with Zimbabwe at a bilateral level, and an agreement on the co-operation on water resources management and the establishment of a Joint water Commission, was concluded with Zimbabwe on 8 April 2015.
This matter has been tabled by Zimbabwe to the Zambezi River Basin Commission. Zambia as a country is also a member of the Zambezi River Basin Commission.
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