Ministers responsible for water in 41 African
countries met in Abuja, Nigeria (29-30 April 2002) and
decided to form the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
to promote cooperation, security, socio-economic development
and poverty eradication through the management of water
resources and provision of water supply services.
MANDATE:
AMCOW’s mission is to provide political leadership, policy
direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management
of water resources for sustainable social and economic
development and maintenance of African ecosystems. AMCOW's
major functions are to facilitate regional and international
co-operation through the co-ordination of policies and
actions amongst African countries regarding water resources
issues, review and mobilize additional financing for the
water sector in Africa, and provide a mechanism for
monitoring the progress of implementation of major regional
and global water resources and water supply and sanitation
initiatives. AMCOW also provides a forum for dialogue with
UN agencies and other partners on water issues, and promotes
participation in regional studies regarding climate changes,
development of observation networks, facilitates information
exchange and aims to develop policies and strategies for
addressing the water issues in Africa. In addition, AMCOW's
functions are to:
keep the state of
Africa's water under review and promote desirable actions of
common interest to Africa;
facilitate regional and
international co-operation through the co-ordination of
policies and actions amongst African countries regarding
water resources issues’
support trans-national
co-operation on water related issues through development of
common positions on matters of global concern as well as
co-operation in implementation of relevant conventions and
international agreements;
encourage mechanisms
that will promote best practices in water policy reforms,
integrated water resources management, food security, water
supply and sanitation and also assist in delivery in
National regional and sub-regional programmes;
promote participation in
regional studies regarding climate changes, develop
observation networks, encourage information exchange and
setup strategies for the management of water resources in
time of drought and floods and develop policies and
strategies of arresting the water crisis in Africa; and
keep under review and
constantly seek to strengthen the financing of water sector
in Africa.
STRUCTURE:
The AMCOW
institutional set-up consists of a Full Council of Ministers
(the minister responsible for water from each member
country), an Executive Committee with a President/Chair
(presently Uganda). The Executive Committee is composed of
three representatives/water ministers from each of the 5
sub-regions (AMCOW member states are divided into five
sub-regions: West Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa,
North Africa and Southern Africa). Each sub-region has a
sub-regional Secretariat (usually housed in the respective
Regional Economic Community) for co-ordination of
sub-regional activities. Each sub-region is headed by a Vice
President. The main AMCOW Secretariat is in Abuja, Nigeria
and is headed by an Interim Executive Secretary and support
staff. The Executive Committee is advised by a Technical
Advisory Committee (TAC). The Executive Committee ensures
that decisions of the council are implemented and is
responsible for the development of work programs/budgets for
approval by the council, mobilizes the necessary financing
and supervises the work of the secretariat.
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