2.1 The SADC Water Sector in its efforts to achieve its targeted goals in executing its overall objective has collaborated with several public agencies and private sector in the integrated water resources development and management as well as other SADC Sectors. The following is brief synopsis of progress achieved in the various projects/activities in the Water Sector programme of work.

2.2 The four sub-committees whose task is to assist the WRTC in its activities, met for their annual meetings. The following is the summary of progress made in each sub-committee.

2.3 The Sub-committee for Hydrogeology:
The Sub-committee is responsible for overseeing and supervising the implementation of the Regional Groundwater Management Programme. 

The latest developments regarding the implementation of the Regional Groundwater Management Programme is that Project 2 entitled: "Development of Minimum Common Standards for Groundwater Development in the SADC Region" has been elaborated. The terms of reference were drawn by the SADC Water Sector Coordination Unit (WSCU) and were approved by both the Sub-committee for Hydrogeology and Water Resources Technical Committee (WRTC). Tenders were sent out in August 1999 and evaluation of proposals took place later in January 2000 due to the delay in transferring the funds from French Government to the WSCU. The Bee Pee Groundwater Consultants from Lesotho were selected to undertake this projects. The plan of action has been drawn by the WSCU and it includes country visits by the consultant in May and June 2000. The questionaire which is based on the information the consultant will collect will be sent to member States prior to the consultant visit. The workshop is also planned in which member States will discuss and comment on the Consultant's findings and recommendations.

Another development regarding the Regional Groundwater Management Programme is that it was realised that Council has approved a similar project to be implemented by both the Water Sector and the Mining Sector which is titled: "Compilation of a regional Hydrogeological Map and Atlas for the SADC Region", which is Project 5. These two Sectors met and agreed to join efforts in implementing this project. The Steering Committee comprising WSCU, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland (representing the Water Sector) and the Sub-committee for Geology (representing the Mining Sector) was formed. This Steering Committee will develop a comprehensive plan of action and will also oversee all activities related to this Project.

The Sub-committee is still concerned about the poor attendance of other member States to the meetings.

The Sub-committee elected the new Chairman and the Vice Chairman for the next term. The Chairman is Mr Gregory Christelis from the Department of Water Affairs, Namibia. The Vice Chairman is Ms Lerato Mokoena from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa.

The next Sub-committee meeting will be held in Mauritius in March 2001. The alternative venue in South Africa. 

2.4 The Sub-committee for Surface Water Hydrology:
The Sub-committee is responsible for steering the implementation of the Southern African Development Community Hydrological Observing System (SADC-HYCOS) Project. The Sub-committee noted the progress made by consultants on the installation of Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) as reported by the Pilot Regional Centre (PRC). Regarding the issue of vandalism and sustainability of DCPs installed at each member State, the Sub-committee members will see to it that these will be addressed by each member State using its own funds /budget as these are their properties.

Due to recent floods in the region, the Sub-committee recommended that the expansion on SADC-HYCOS Project be hastened so that floods can be predicted more efficiently. They also recommended that each member States should survey the cross-sections in its hydrometric stations to check the rating tables as the floods may have affected these. Member States should also carry out hydrographic surveys on their reservoirs to assess the amount of siltation as a result of floods. 

The Sub-committee also finalised its Terms of Reference pending its recommendation that the WRTC amend item 1, bullet 4 of its Terms of Reference to read: "Appoints the Sub-committees on short and longer term tasks to assist the WRTC". 

The Sub-committee will elect the new Chairman and Vice Chairman in its next sitting which is scheduled to be held in Swaziland in March 2001. The alternative venue is Tanzania.

2.5 The Sub-committee for Water Supply and Sanitation
The Sub-committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation for the SADC Region. 

The Sub-committee felt that the provision of potable water and save disposal of wastes still remains a priority in the region. The Sub-committee members undertook to supply information regarding statistics of water supply and sanitation coverage to facilitate the situation analysis study.

The new Chairman and Vice Chairman will be elected in the next meeting which is scheduled to be held in March 2001 in Tanzania. The alternative venue is ……..

2.6 The Sub-committee for Aquatic Weeds and Water Quality
The Sub-committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Regional Project to Control Translocation and Infestation of Aquatic Weeds. 

More information needed here on activities of the sub-committee from their last meeting.

2.7 Zambezi River Basin Action Plan (ZACPLAN)
Since the approval of this Programme by Council in 1985, its implementation has been very slow due to among other factors, the financial constraints. To date, out of 19 Projects comprising this Programme, only three, namely, ZACPRO 1,2 and 3 have gone into implementation.

In the process of implementing this Programme several other regional programmes were developed and are on-going such as the SADC-HYCOS and the Groundwater Management Programme for the SADC Region and others within the framework of the Regional Strategic Action Plan (RSAP) of the Water Sector. These Programmes brought in new elements that may cause overlapping and hence duplication with some of the existing projects under the ZACPLAN Programme. Therefore it seems necessary that the ZACPLAN be revisited mainly to analyse its successes and failures as well is to align it with other regional programmes within the framework of the RSAP.

In view of this the WSCU is currently preparing a proposal for the workplan for revision of the ZACPLAN which will be discussed by riparian states and other relevant stakeholders within the Zambezi Basin.

2.8 ZACPRO 2
This is one of the on-going activities under the ZACPLAN which is the establishment of an institutional and legal framework for the management of the Zambezi Basin. The technical negotiations for the establishment of the Zambezi River Basin Commission (ZAMCOM) have not progressed since the Workshop which was held in Victoria Falls in March 1998 due to lack of funds to support the process. However, some funds have been allocated for this activity under the financial package of ZACPRO 6 Phase II, with the understanding that these two projects still remain separate projects and the arrangements for their implementation still remain the same. The negotiations on the Draft ZAMCOM Agreement will be resumed once the funds are made available for use.

2.9 ZACPRO 6
This is another on-going activity under ZACPLAN. This project comprise two Phases and Phase I has been completed. In the process of implementation of Phase II an important change was effected to re-orient the project from "Basin Plan Development" to "Basin Strategy Development". The Project Proposal has been approved by a Consortium of Nordic Cooperating Partners who have now signed the agreement between them to jointly support this project. This Consortium will be led by SIDA who will manage the funding process. 

SIDA has subsequently drafted an agreement between the funding agency and the implementing agency on the funding and implementation of the Project. The draft is currently being reviewed by the WSCU and the riparian member States. At the same time the WSCU is in the process of reviewing the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) on the implementation of this Project. 



2.10 SADC-HYCOS
The sharing of water resources development data (hydrometeorological) in the region has been enhanced by the implementation of this Project with the financial assistance of the European Commission (EC) to the tune of Euro1,964,000. The Project is being implemented on behalf of the WSCU by a Pilot Regional Centre (PRC) established at the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), in Pretoria, South Africa. The Project is to establish fifty (50) data collection platforms (DCPs) in ten continental member States of SADC excluding South Africa, which already has its own DCPs and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which joined SADC when the process was well advanced. 

Presently, thirty (30) DCPs have been installed in Zimbabwe (5), Botswana (3), Malawi (6), Tanzania (3), Swaziland (4), Namibia (4), Lesotho (3) and Zambia (2).

With regard to the vandalism of DCPs, member States were urged to take responsibility of securing the equipment installed in the stations within their territories.

It was also approved that the Sub-committee for Surface Hydrology becomes the member of the Steering Committee for SADC HYCOS instead of the WRTC.

2.11 The Groundwater Management Programme for the SADC Region
The implementation of this Programme has been initiated by elaborating one of the priority projects, Project 2 entitled: "Development of Common Minimum Standards for Groundwater Development in the SADC Region". After the terms of reference for this Projects have been approved by the Sectoral Committee of Ministers of Water, Tenders were sent out by the WSCU to member States in August 1999 and subsequently evaluation of proposal followed later in January 2000 due to the delay in transferring funds from the French Government to the WSCU. Eventually the Bee Pee Groundwater Consultants were selected to undertake the Project. The WSCU will soon sign the contract with the consultant who will start the work immediately thereafter.

One of the activities to be undertaken by the consultant is to visit member States in an effort to collect information regarding this Project. This is envisaged to take place in May and June 2000 and a questionaire regarding the information the consultant will collect will be sent to member State prior to the visits. A workshop is also planned for the members of the Sub-committee for Hydrogeology to discuss and comment on the consultant findings.

It was realised that Council approved a similar project to be implemented by both the Water Sector and the Mining Sector which is entitled: Compilation of a Regional Hydrogeological Map and Atlas for the SADC Region". The two Sectors met and agreed to collaborate in the implementation of this Project. The Sub-committee for Hydrogeology recommended that a Steering Committee be formed comprising members from both the Water Sector and the Mining Sector. In its last meeting held in Windhoek, the Sub-committee agreed that the WSCU, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland will represent the Water Sector in the Steering Committee while the Mining Sector will be represented by the Geology Sub-committee. 

The Steering Committee also met in Windhoek in March 2000, and discussed the way forward which included drafting of a questionaire to all stakeholders in member States basically for the needs assessment as well as to establish an inventory of available data in member States needed for the compilation of the map. The questionaire has been sent to member States through the WRTC and the Sub-committee for Hydrogeology as well as the Mining Sector. The response back is expected at the end of June 2000.

Progress has also been made on the partial implementation of Project 7 entitled: "Development of a Website on INTERNET and Publishing of Bimonthly News Letter" through the establishment of the WSCU Website. The Website address will be published soon.

With regard to Project 6 entitled: "Establishment of a Regional Groundwater Research Institute/Commission" possible links are being ventured with the Waternet which is a regional cooperation initiated between universities and training institutions to establish a common Master Degree Programme on Integrated Water Resources Management. 

2.12 The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is hosting the World Exposition in Hannover, from the 1st June to the 31st October 2000. The overall theme of the Exposition 2000 (EXPO 2000) is "Humankind, Nature and Technology". Ten Member States with the exception of Angola, Botswana, DRC, and Swaziland will participate in the manning of the SADC Stand on a rotational basis for a period of at least two weeks each. It is noteworthy that this number is indicative. "Water" has been selected as a theme for the SADC Joint Presentation. 

Apart from a preparatory workshop which was held in Maseru, Lesotho from the 18th to the 20th January 1999; and the EXPO 2000 Coordinating Committee meeting which was held in Johannesburg from the 25th to the 26th May 1999; three more meetings have been held as follows:

The EXPO 2000 Coordinating Committee meeting was held from the 2nd to the 3rd of September, 1999 to review the Council's decisions with regard to the recommendations that were made to them for approval. The meeting also reviewed progress in general on the whole preparatory process and formulated a way forward.

A meeting of the SADC EXPO 2000 Coordinating Committee with National Commissioner Generals was held from the 13th to the 15th of October, 1999, in Pretoria, South Africa to, mainly, discuss the synergies between the SADC joint presentation and the national presentations to avoid duplications and to minimise costs. 

Another follow-up workshop with the Commissioner Generals was held from the 1st to the 3rd of March 2000, in Pretoria, South Africa. The objective of the workshop was to review progress regarding preparations for both the SADC Joint presentation and the national presentations. The report on the decisions of the Council of Ministers at their meeting from 10-24 February, 2000, in Mbabane, Swaziland was also given.

Member States contribution would be through manning the SADC stand, supplying public relations (PR) materials and costs related to the cultural activities. More information is given separately.

2.13 SADC WATER WEEKS
The SADC Water Sector promotes the implementation of the internationally acknowledged principles in the management and development of water resources. Challenges are immense for the interpretation of these principles. The Water Sector embarked on a programme for the provision of a framework for the interpretation of the principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM) as well as publicising the water sector through national water weeks workshops.

This initiative was first presented by the WSCU during the Global Water Partnership (GWP) forum held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Since then the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) agreed to fund this activity to the tune of DKK 4, 495, 700 (equivalent to approximately US $671, 000). 

In this regard, the WSCU conceived and initiated the SADC Water Weeks Workshops. The main objective of these workshops was mainly to inform key national stakeholders in sustainable management and development of water resources about the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems, the Southern African Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st Century Process and other regional initiatives as the first Phase. 

During each of the SADC Water Week that was held in member States, the WSCU presented the paper on the Protocol while member States presented the national views / country papers on the same. Also presented at the SADC Water Weeks were the Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st Century and the SADC Regional Initiatives, the SADC Regional Strategic Action Plan (1999-2004) and other Regional Programmes in the Water Sector.

The participation of member States in these workshops covered broad range of stakeholders from different water sub-sectors and these included governmental agencies, parastatals, private sector, the research institutions and non-governmental organisations. These three-day workshops which were held in ten (10) members were the first of the kind and the member States recognised the importance and successes of these fora. 

The member States recommended that in the future in order to increase participation in these fora, the SADC Weeks should coincide with National Water Days in each member State. Member States are therefore to inform the WSCU the dates of their national water week.

2.14 The Regional Strategic Action Plan (1999-2004)

During the period June 1999 and May 2000, the Water Sector strategically focussed on the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan (1999 - 2000). The Plan was compiled in 1998. The Water Sector submitted the Plan successfully to Cooperating Partners for funding in December, 1998 at a Round Table Conference in Geneva. The implementation of this Plan is envisaged to create the regional framework for integrated water resources development and management. It is intended to create the enabling environment for future capital works on water resources management.

Thirty one of the forty four Projects in the Regional Strategic Action Plan were identified as priority Projects at Geneva and earmarked for implementation with funding obtained through the Round Table Conference process. For these Projects, as reported in the last Annual Report, some initial detailing work in the form of Project Concept Notes was done in May 1999 with the assistance of a Multi - Disciplinary Team of Experts. 

Substantial progress was made in the elaboration and implementation of Projects in the period being reported on. Eight Projects are in the process of being implemented. The implementation levels of these Projects vary from project development to actual implementation of activities. The most significant progress was recorded on Project 6: The Ground Water Management Program, Project 8: Support for the Implementation of the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems, Project 15: Expansion of SADC HYCOS and Project 23: Waternet. With respect to the rest of the Projects, a lot of effort was put into consultation on a) the process of detailing the Project Concept Notes into Project documents and b) securing funds for the implementation of the Projects. The way to elaborate the Project Concept Notes was clarified by March 2000. This concept is currently being operationalized on individual Projects with the assistance of specific Cooperating Partners and Stakeholders.

In August 1999, the Project Concept Notes of the 31 Projects were sent out to Cooperating Partners. The Cooperating Partners were requested to make firm pledges of support to the Projects they are interested in. As of May 2000, firm pledges of support had been received from 16 Cooperating Partners as follows: the World Bank, GEF, AfDB, FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, DFID, Danida, Belgium, the French Cooperation, USAID, SIDA, the Netherlands, GTZ and the Water Research Commission of the RSA. All the Projects secured some indications of support from Cooperating Partners except three Projects namely: Project 19 - Rehabilitation of Joint Monitoring Systems between Angola and Namibia, Project 28 - Study of the Navigability of the Zambezi and Shire Rivers and Project 29 - Stabilization of the Course of the Songwe River. In March and April 2000, Cooperating Partners like CIDA, NORAD, the EU etc. who had not indicated their firm interest to support any of the Projects were followed up on a bilateral basis. The bilateral follow up was and is being done to secure more pledges from Cooperating Partners.

Over the year, a substantial amount of effort was put into nurturing good cooperation between the Water Sector and Cooperating Partners and the Partners among themselves. Three highly successful meetings of the Water Strategy Reference Group were held (May 1999, September 1999 and March 2000). One Cooperating Partners consultation meeting was held in November 1999. Very useful strategic advice for the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan was obtained through these meetings. The basic ideas on elaborating Project Concept Notes emerged from these meetings. There is a lot of good will among Cooperating Partners towards the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan. 

Some activities focusing on mobilizing the Stakeholders for the purpose partly of implementing the Regional Strategic Action Plan were undertaken during the time being reported. Workshops supported by the Water Sector were held to finalize amendments to the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems (e.g. 27 - 31 March 2000). Further, Stakeholders in ten countries were sensitized on the Protocol and the Regional Strategic Action Plan through "Water Weeks" workshops in the last half of 1999. The Website on the Water Sector was established in April 2000.

The Water Sector Stakeholders were consulted on matters related to the Regional Strategic Action Plan through the Water Resources Technical Committee of October 1999 and the four subcommittee meetings that took place in March and April 2000. The activities and reports on the Projects in the Regional Strategic Action Plan were reviewed and the Program management received guidance. Outstanding programme implementation matters like the project approval processes, tender and financial accounting procedures, programme focal persons at national level, contribution of member States, determination of the third smaller river basin etc. are receiving due attention.

Coordination between the Water Sector Coordination Unit and member States on the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan also received attention between May 1999 and April 2000. Of significance under this aspect were bilateral contacts in March and April 2000 between the Unit and Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa on Projects 18,19, 27, 29, 30 and 31. These contacts served the purpose of exchanging information on the status quo and possible way forward.

With respect to matters related to Programme management, a Programme Steering Committee made up of representatives of the Water Sector Coordination Unit and the UNDP Maseru was constituted. The Committee reviewed programme implementation progress and gave operational guidance. For purposes of securing speedy and proper implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan, the Water Sector Coordination Unit initiated measures to correct its capacity weaknesses. A substantive Programme Manager was employed and started work in March 2000. Terms of Reference for the Needs Assessment Study were finalized in March 2000. The Study will be embarked on shortly. Initiatives to outsource expertise from other SADC Coordination Units like the Gender, Transport, Mining and Human Resources Development were made.

To complement the institutional changes that were introduced to enhance the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan, some administrative changes were introduced at the same time. Professionals at the Unit were allocated the responsibility of following up specific Regional Strategic Action Plan activities. A comprehensive Workplan for the Orientation Phase of the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan was prepared in March 2000. It is hoped that the Workplan will give focused guidance to the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan

Good progress has been achieved in the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan between June 1999 and May 2000 given the challenges that needed to be overcome. It was not easy for the Unit to focus on the implementation of the Regional Strategic Action Plan given its thin personnel base. The Programme only got a substantive Programme Manager in March 2000. A lot of background work needed to be done to secure sufficient consultation on the Projects among the Stakeholders and funding for the Projects from Cooperating Partners. The institutional framework for coordination and cooperation with Cooperating Partners and mobilization and consultation with Stakeholders were put in place in the period under review. Consensus on roles and on the way ahead for the foreseeable future was reached. It is hoped that with these institutions now in place, with consensus on the way forward reached and increased focus on implementation matters expected from the Water Sector Coordination Unit, more progress is expected to be made in the months to come.

2.15 The SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems

Following the directive from the Council of Ministers, that the SADC Secretariat and the WSCU should compile amendments to the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems for consideration in their next meeting, and the two workshops held in Manzini and Mbabane Swaziland, in April 1997 and August, 1998, respectively, and the one held in Mutare, Zimbabwe, on the 19th - 22nd April 1999, to address the comments and agree on the proposed amendments to the Protocol, the SADC Secretariat and the WSCU organised a legal expert meeting in which duplications and repetitions were removed in order to attain a standard and quality document expected of a SADC regional agreement. This was done in view of the fact that the substantial importation of whole articles and parts thereof from the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses, the document might had lost the logic and orderliness which was intended to be achieved. While it was necessary to capture and retain the ideas, it was imperative for the Protocol to be revisited with the view of tidying it up and reordering it such that the general principles were kept concise and distinct while the positive obligations or undertakings were extracted and transferred to the operative part. 

The meeting made substantial progress and reached consensus on all issues except four. The issues on which consensus was not achieved were:

a) paragraph 3 of Article 6 on Shared Watercourse Agreements in respect of which it was agreed to use "State Parties" and "Watercourse States" interchangeably until agreement could be reached by Water Resources Technical Committee or other meetings of the Water Sector on which of the two terms was appropriate.

b) the question whether specific provision was to be made for accession to or amendment of the Amendment Protocol separately from accession to and amendment of, the Protocol, while some participants were of the view that accession and amendment could only relate to the Protocol, others were of the view that separate provision had to be made in the Amendment Protocol.

c) the question whether entry into force could be effected by a smaller number of ratifications than the two thirds of member States as stipulated in the draft Amendment Protocol. Some participant felt that it was desirable to reduce the requisite number of ratifications to a lesser percentage.

d) the question whether member States should sign, ratify, or accede to the Amendment Protocol or to a Consolidated Version which incorporates the original Protocol and the Amendment Protocol. 

Hence the SADC Secretariat and the Water Sector Coordination Unit convened a meeting of WRTC and Legal Experts to finalise the Draft Amendment Protocol. This meeting was held from the 27th to the 31st March, 2000, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting facilitated the final reading of the protocol as opposed to a renegotiation. It is in that context that the issues raised above were addressed and the recommendations from that meeting are as follows:

a) Amendment Protocol vs. Consolidated Version

It was recorded that the mandate initially given for the exercise the workshop was engaged in was one of amending the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems. In the course of the amendment process, the participants had agreed that a more practical and elegant way of presenting the amendments was by packaging them in the form of a consolidated version which was more comprehensible and easier to work with than an Amendment Protocol. This method necessarily entails a repeal of the Protocol to ensure that there is no multiplicity of legal regimes applicable to individual Member States at one time, while at the same time recognising that rights and obligations emanating from the Protocol may not be extinguished immediately on the coming into force of the replacement instrument.

It was decided to present to the policy organs both an Amendment Protocol and a consolidated version and leave the decision on the choice of instrument where it belongs, with a strong recommendation for the approval of the consolidated version. 

b) Watercourse States vs. State Parties

In order to restrict the application of the term "watercourse states" to parties to the Protocol, a new definition of "watercourse states" was adopted which limited the application of the term to "watercourse states" who are parties to the Protocol. It was decided that there was no need to address "watercourse states" unless they were also parties to the Protocol and could thus incur obligations and/or have rights accruing to them under it.

c) Accession

In view of the fact that even current parties to the Protocol were not in international law bound by the amendments unless they agree to them, it was decided to make provision for accession so that state parties who do not ratify the Amendment Protocol before it becomes effective may still accept it by accession. Accordingly, Article 11 of the Protocol should be amended to provide for accession to the amendment.

d) Number of Ratifications for Adoption of Amendment

The meeting decided to adhere to the number of ratifications prescribed by the Treaty and the Protocol, especially taking into account the nature and extent of the amendments proposed.

e) Amendments

No provision was to be made in the Amendment Protocol for amendments as this was already covered by Article 12 of the Protocol with which the amendment formed one Protocol.

f) Article 5

The meeting recognised the need for a reference to Member States who in any event carry the primary responsibility for the implementation of the Protocol. In consequence, it was decided to amend Article 5 by inserting a paragraph obliging Member States to take appropriate measures to give effect to the institutional mechanisms created under this article.

2.16 The Southern African Vision for Water, Life and Environment in the 21st Century

The development of the Southern African Vision for Water, Life and Environment in the 21st Century and its associate Framework for Action was facilitated by the Global Water Partnership - Southern African Technical Advisory Committee (GWP-SATAC), in association with the SADC Water Sector.

The vision development process followed a highly participatory approach involving all stakeholders at various levels. From November 1998 to March 1999, a quick review of existing vision and framework for action and the establishment of the Programme Reference Group were undertaken under the guidance of GWP and World Water Council. This was followed by the creation of a draft initial vision and Framework for Action statement by five sub-sectoral specialist working Groups. The future water world was considered with respect to energy, biotechnology, macroeconomics and development, infrastructure and communications, and information technology. This took place between April and June 1999.

As a way of securing stakeholder participation and feedback in the initial vision and Framework for Action, a stakeholders' workshop was held from the 1st to the 2nd of July, 1999. A substantial national input was secured by engaging national contact points who facilitated discussions during the SADC Water Week workshops in member States between June and October 1999. The inputs from these water weeks workshops together with other inputs were synthesised into a draft final statement. From the 8th to the 9th of November 1999 a final vision Statement and Preliminary Framework for Action was produced by a workshop of stakeholders including the SADC Water Resources Technical Committee members. This workshop was the second of its series with a turn-up of around sixty participants.

On the 1st of December 1999, the SADC Sectoral Committee of Ministers of Water held an extra-ordinary meeting in Arusha, Tanzania. The objective of the meeting was to review and approve the draft final vision and Framework for Action. This was done in preperation for the water forum which was held in The Hague, in the Netherlands, from the 17th to the 22nd of March 2000. The vision and Framework for Action Statement was approved on condition that those sub-visions relevant to the sector coordinating units(SCUs) of Health; Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources(FANR); Energy; and Environment, Land and Management(ELMS) being cleared by those SCUs.

Assurance was made that the concerns in the Southern Afican Vision for Water, Life and Environment in the 21st century were incorporated into the Africa vision and the World Water Vision. The African vision was finalised in a workshop that held from the 8th to the 9th of February 2000 where the Water Sector Coordination Unit(WSCU) was represented. Prior to the ministerial conference at the Hague scheduled for 21st and 22nd March 2000, the SADC Senior Officials met on the 17th March 2000 to review and make sure that the concerns in the Southern African Vision statement had been incorporated in both the African Vision and the World Water Vision. One of the outputs of the world Water Ministerial Conference was a World Water Ministerial Forum declaration.

The next step will be the implementation of the Framework for Action. Most of the actions were harmonised with the existing SADC Water Sector Regional Strategic Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management (1999-2000), for ease of implementation.

2.17 Pre-feasibility Study on the Utilisation of the Congo River 
This proposal was approved by Council in August 1999 in Maputo, Mozambique. The study is to establish whether it is feasible to transfer water from the Congo River to augment water supplies for some of the water stressed member States.

During the WRTC meeting which was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, a Steering Committee comprising WSCU, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Botswana was formed to assist the WSCU in all activities of this desk study and to oversee the implementation thereof. The Steering Committee was also charged with the responsibility of consolidating three sets of Terms of Reference (TOR) for this study from WSCU, Namibia and DRC. To date only two sets of TOR (from WSCU and Namibia have been consolidated due to the delay by DRC to send in her TOR on this Study. However, the TOR from DRC have been received and translated from French to English and consolidation process is continuing. The final draft TOR will be produced during the WRTC meeting.

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