The Deputy Minister Water and Sanitation, Ms Pamela Tshwete will be in Zimbabwe from 24 - 26 June 2015. She will be in that country on an invitation to the Department of Water and Sanitation by the Zimbabwean Minister, Honourable Saviour Kasukuwere responsible for Environment, Water and Climate.
Deputy Minister Tshwete leads a South African delegation of technical officials and engineers to attend and participate in the Water Resources Infrastructure Conference organised by the Zimbabwean government.
The history of South Africa and Zimbabwe dates back many years. Recently Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, Minister of Water and Sanitation in South Africa and Honourable Saviour Kasukuwere, Minister of Environment, Water and Climate in Zimbabwe have been working together on different platforms to explore measures of cooperation between the two countries in the provision of water for the benefit of their respective citizens.
They were together in the Conference on Gender, Water and Development held in East London, South Africa on 03 -07 November 2014. This conference noted that sustainable management of water resources and sanitation provides great benefits to society and the economy as a whole when both women and men are involved in water resource management.
They also met in the World Water Forum 7, held in Gyeongju, South Korea, in April 2015 which was about water security, water for development, and water for sustainability whilst harmonizing between humans and nature and constructing feasible water implementation mechanisms.
It is in these sessions that a good understanding of the water situation and challenges in the two countries was appreciated which paved a firm view for the need of this co-operation.
This invitation follows shortly after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between South Africa and Zimbabwe during the Presidential visit to South Africa formalising a bilateral cooperation on water resource.
The Deputy Minister is expected to speak as a guest of honour in the Conference. She will talk on the importance of this co-operation, explore socio-economic benefits of the partnership whilst building on the already existing relations between the two countries including all other riparian states in the southern African region.
The engineers and technical teams will participate in the conference tracks and deepen their understanding on the available opportunities for co-operation and workable available mechanisms to provide water in the two countries.
For more information contact:
Phaki Hobongwana: Media Liaison, Office of the Deputy Minister
Cell: 073 050 7717
