The highly uneven development of policy, legislation and strategy between Member States
(Table 2.1); and
Inadequate institutional capacity and governance arrangements, particularly for the
implementation of policy, legislation and strategies.
The objectives of this project would thus be:
To assess the SADC Member States' national water policies and/or legislation in terms of
compliance with the Regional Water Policy;
To promote the harmonisation of Member States’ national water policies, legislation and
strategies with those of other Member States, the Regional Policy and Strategy and relevant
international conventions and protocols;
Provide technical and financial support to the SADC Member States to effect the
harmonisation of their national water legislation, policies and strategies within SADC; and
Create an enabling environment for the implementation of national, bi‐national and regional
water infrastructure within the SADC region.
The project proponent is the SADC Water Division, which will appoint a suitable consultant to carry
out the assessment on the SADC Member States' national water policies and/or legislation
compliance with the Regional Water Policy. The ToR and appointment of the consultant can be done
in early 2013 for completion of the assessment by mid‐2013. SADC Member States can then seek the
technical and financial assistance through the SADC Water Division according to their needs soon
thereafter. The estimated total cost for the project, which includes the estimated technical and
financial requirements of the SADC Member States to harmonise their policies, is US$2.4 million.
Possible project financiers are Sida, DANIDA and GIZ. The project can be considered to be in Phase 3
of the ICA Project Development Phases.
The major project challenges foreseen are the timely sourcing of project finances and the reluctance
of Member States to harmonise their policies due to sovereignty egos.
Institutional Reforms for RBOs, River/Water Authorities and Utilities (Project GP‐3)
Part of the overall objective of the SADC Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses is to advance the
agenda of regional integration and poverty eradication. In order to achieve this, the Protocol seeks to
promote and facilitate the establishment of shared watercourse agreements and shared watercourse
institutions for the management of shared watercourses. In Article 1 of the Protocol (SADC 2000), the
management of a shared watercourse means:
Planning the sustainable development of a shared watercourse and providing for the
implementation of any plans adopted; and
Otherwise promoting the rational, equitable and optimal utilisation, protection and control of
the watercourse.
It can be premised that the intentions of the Protocol are for shared watercourse institutions to be
sufficiently empowered to manage the shared watercourse, bearing in mind the definition of
managing a shared watercourse, which has both provisions for infrastructure development,
operation and management, and for protecting the watercourse's biodiversity. Currently, all the
RBOs in the SADC region are not focused on infrastructure development. Instead, they have an
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