Press Statement of the Chairperson of the NELCOM

Details

Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program

 (NELSAP)

Press Statement of the Chairperson of the NELCOM and Minister of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning, Burundi, Hon. Emmanuel Niyonkuru

At the closure of the 18th NELCOM Meeting Statement on 13th October 2015, Entebbe, Uganda

NELSAP Governance commits to promote NBI investment projects in member countries

Entebbe- Uganda, October 13, 2015 – The Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Council of Ministers (NELCOM) composed of Ministers in charge of Water Affairs held its 18th ordinary meeting at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda.

The objectives of the meeting were to discuss and take stock the implementation status of the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) for the period between July 2014 and June 2015, approve the new work plan & budget for the financial year 2015–2016, deliberate and provide strategic direction to scaling up the NELSAP investment projects in the Nile Equatorial Lakes Region.

During this meeting, the Minister of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning of Burundi, Hon. Emmanuel Niyonkuru of the Republic of Burundi took over the one–year chairmanship of NELCOM, which was handed over by the Minister of Water and Environment of the Republic of Uganda, Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu. Hon. Emmanuel Niyonkuru will hand over the chair to his successor in the 2016 during the scheduled NELCOM meeting to be held in Bujumbura.

The NELCOM meeting applauded the following outcoms :  

  1. NELSAP Member states were argued to timely honor their annual financial obligations as well as own NELSAP investment projects in their respective countries’ development plans towards enhancing the Nile Cooperation for sustainable development;
  2. NELCOM members commended NELSAP achievements during the previous financial year 2014–2015  for mobilizing additional funds to a tune of $41 for  program, making progress on the Implementation of Interconnection of Electric Grids Project whose some lines are about to be commissioned.
  3. The NELCOM and approved the Program work plan and respective budget for 2015–2016 including new pipeline projects to scale-up the investment projects;
  4. NELCOM members applauded the successful transition/completion of recruitment process of the NELSAP–CU Senior management team who are currently on board and sustaining conitous running of business of the program;
  5. NELCOM members argued for intensified resource mobilization for smooth implementation of both pre-investment and investment phases of the NELSAP water resource management and development, as well as the power development and trade investment projects to ensure the Water-Energy-Food nexus contributes to socio–economic development.

The 18th NELCOM Meeting was attended by Ministers in charge of Water Affairs from Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda while the NELCOM members from Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania were represented. In addition, NELTAC Members from the mentioned Member States, the NBI Executive Director, the NELSAP management and technical team, representatives of NELSAP Development Partners, the civil society and the media participated as observers.

Next annual meeting

The next NELCOM meeting shall take place in Bujumbura, Burundi in 2016.

 

 

NELCOM 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Notes to the Editor:

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) established two Subsidiary Action Programs: the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) based in Kigali, Rwanda and the Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Program (ENSAP) located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as investment programs.

NBI, NELSAP and ENSAP are guided by a Shared Vision: ‘To achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin Water resources’.

NELSAP member countries include Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South-Sudan, The Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The NELSAP mission is to “contribute to the eradication of poverty, promotion of economic growth, and reversal of environmental degradation” in the Nile Equatorial Lakes Region.

The Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU) is mandated to “facilitate, support and strengthen the identification, preparation and implementation supervision processes for NELSAP investments projects for the benefit of all riparian countries’ in power development and trade and water resources management and development.

NELSAP ongoing investment projects include:

In the Natural Resources Development and Management:

  • Kagera River Basin Management Project (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda)
  • Mara River Basin Management Project (Tanzania and Kenya)
  • Sio-Malaba-Malakisi River Basin Management Project (Kenya and Uganda)
  • Nyimur Multipurpose Water Resources Project (Uganda and South Sudan)
  • Multinational Lakes Edward and Albert Integrated Fisheries and Water Resources Management Project (LEAF II) – (Uganda and DR Congo)
  • Interconnection of Electric Grids of the NEL Countries (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, DRC and Uganda)
  • Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project (Burundi, Tanzania, and Rwanda)
  • Tanzania-Zambia Transmission Line Study (Tanzania and Zambia)

Power Development and Trade:

For more information please contact

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Website http://nelsap.nilebasin.org

Tel: +250 788 30 7334 / +250 788 558 165