Tuesday, 28 January 2014

[wanabidii] Tanzania, Malawi to Implement Songwe River Basin Plan

BY ROSE HERMAN

The government of Tanzania has partnered with Malawi to implement Songwe River Basin Development programme, thanks to a grant from the African Water Facility (AWF) and new partnership for Africa's development.

According to statement availed to East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, signed by Mr Christopher Sayi, the PS for Water in Tanzania and Mr Sandram Maweru, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Water Development and Irrigation for Malawi, the two nations are expected to spend EUR 5,779,515 ($7.098 million) for the implementation of the project.

"The overall goal of the project is to contribute to economic growth, reduced poverty, improved health, better living conditions and enhanced food and energy security for the people in the Songwe Basin as well as economic development of the two countries," Mr Sayi said in a statement.

He added that the project's objectives are to assist the two countries create a long-term strategic framework, investment plans and enabling environment for basin-wide socio-economic development based on joint management of the shared waters.

The basin project will also offer opportunities such as agricultural development, hydropower, fisheries, water supply and sanitation, and recreation, Sayi said.

"The economy of the basin highly depends on water related sectors, whose issues and problems need to be addressed through integrated trans-boundary water resources management and development," he added.

The project which its overall duration is two years located at Kyela town, in the southern highland of Tanzania which borders by Malawi and Zambia.

It will also assist to create a long term strategic framework, investment plans and to enable environment for basin wide social-economic development based on joint management of the shared water, he said.

The structure of the project is divided into five components, such as preparation of the shared vision towards 2050 and a 10-year Songwe river basin development (SRBDP), secondly is detailed design and preparation for priority investment projects.

The statement further said that the environmental and social impact assessment for the programme together the development of a joint river basin commission as well as associated integrated water resources management (IWRM) capacity building at local and national level are another components.

The last component being to support project management and resource mobilization for the implementation of capital investment under the programme, the statement added.

However the project also faced with challenges which are frequent flood in lower basin and the shifting of the international border between two countries in the river delta zone due to meandering of the river, unstable access to fish resources, deforestation, bush burning, and unstable cultivation which together lead to soil erosion. Other challenges between the countries which faced the project includes unregulated water flow of the river which lead to flood and drought, lack of access to safe water among others.

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