Egypt to host 4th Africa Water Week
Come Monday, May 14, 2012, City Stars in the Egyptian capital Cairo, will welcome water ministers from all over Africa, civil society organisations and parliamentarians among others, as delegates to the 4th Africa Water Week conference themed “Water for Growth in Africa … AMCOW’s Journey at 10”.
Incidentally, the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), lead organisers of the conference, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary when the conference kick starts Monday and ends Friday May 18, hence the theme for the conference.
Also playing lead roles in the conference which seeks to put water high on the political agenda in Africa, just weeks after the 6th World Water Forum, held in Marseille, France from March 11- 18, 2012 will be the Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt, Prof. Hesham Kandil, the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Africa Union Commission (AUC).
In a welcome address to delegates who will be thronging the conference venue, President of AMCOW Hon. Bee Molewa, said “I am proud that we have chosen this theme which puts water at the centre of our development efforts. Clean water and safe sanitation have been recognised as key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets on health, education and poverty eradication.”
She opined that the effective utilisation of the water resources as well as efficient and harmonious management of Africa’s trans-boundary waters will lead to greater food security, better harnessing of the continent’s energy sources, creation of a diversified transportation means including effective means of intra and inter socio-economic and political integration, peace and security, factors germane for more robust sustainable development.
“The 4th Africa Water Week also comes at an opportune time when AMCOW is commemorating 10 years of its existence. This gives us chance to take stock of the AMCOW journey in the past years and more importantly, reflect on our future,” she said.
Expressing her satisfaction that the conference is coming on the heels of the World Water Forum held in March where Africa declared its resolve to take solutions, decisions and actions forward, Hon. Molewa said “The conference therefore provides a platform for Africa and our friends at global level to turn focus on addressing challenges faced in the water resources management and also to accelerate progress in attaining the MDG targets on water and sanitation as we head for the bigger picture, achieving the 2025 Africa Water Vision.”
Calling on all Africans to act on issues concerning water, the AMCOW President said “I believe the 4th Africa Water Week positions Africa and our esteemed partners to act, especially this time when we only have three years, to demonstrate our resolve to achieve MDG targets and also in line with Africa Water Vision 2025.”
“Now is Africa’s time to use water to wash away poverty and underdevelopment from the impoverished faces of the children of Africa. Now is the time to use water as a catalyst for the emancipation and the empowerment of women in Africa. Now is indeed the time to use water as a tool to accelerate the social and economic development of Africa,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, convenors of the technical sessions according to the organisers, will be the African Development Bank (AfDB), OWAS, and Climate Programme, African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW), African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), African Union Commission (AUC), Africa Utility Regulators (AFUR) and the African Water Association (AfWA).
Others are the European Water Initiative – Africa Working Group (EUWI-AWG), Gates Foundation, Global Water Partnership (GWP), Infrastructure Consortium for Africa- Water platform (ICA), Ministry of Water & Irrigation, Egypt (MWRI), UN Water Africa representing the United Nations system and USAID – Further Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (FABRI).
The rest are WaterAid, Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA), World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, Africa and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
By Edmund Smith-Asante