Southern African nations should not continue to suffer water shortages while the mighty Zambezi River remains largely unexploited, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told regional water authorities Friday at a conference in Bulawayo.
He said the Zambezi offers a solution to water shortages in the Southern African Development Community.
Mr. Tsvangirai urged SADC water ministers to expedite signature and ratification of the Zambezi Commission protocol so the region can tap the potential of the river for the benefit of all. He said rural areas in the sub-region are in dire need of safe and reliable sources of water.
“It is therefore my hope that your deliberations during this meeting will over the short and medium term directly translate to more and more of our people across SADC having access to adequate clean quality water,” Mr Tsvangirai said.
Tsvangirai spokesman James Maridadi told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that the prime minister also emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships in the development of water resources.
Zimbabwean Water Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga that the summit resolved that the whole Southern African sub-region should have clean drinking water by 2016.
