South Africa and Eswatini have signed a revised treaty on the development and use of the water resources of the Komati River basin.

This followed Eswatini’s Minister of Natural Resource and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela Dalmini's invitation to South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina to discuss cooperation in the field of water resources of mutual interest and to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The two Ministers emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and the existing bilateral relations through the 1992 Joint Water Commission Agreement signed in 1992.

The Joint Water Commission acts as a technical adviser to the parties on the development and use of water resources of common interest.

Eswatini and South Africa also signed the Treaty on the Development and Utilisation of Water Resources of the Komati Basin in 1992, which paved the way for the establishment of the binational entity Komati Basin Water Authority (Kobwa) in 1993.

Kobwa’s core functions include raising finance for, and the design, construction, operation and maintenance of, the Maguga and Driekoppies dams.

The treaty stipulated the equitable water allocations between two countries and a formula for sharing the costs of construction of the two dams, as well as operation and maintenance of the dams and the system post construction phase.

The treaty had not been reviewed since.

Legislative changes in Eswatini and South Africa, the evolving environment in which Kobwa operates and commitments to international principles on transboundary cooperation between member States, besides others, necessitated a review the treaty, the joint statement released following the signing ceremony noted.

The review aimed to broaden Kobwa’s mandate to complement the two governments’ efforts in providing water services to their citizens and create ways of generating revenue to ultimately support its operational expenses.

The review process included public consultations involving both respective countries and observance by both countries of all relevant processes for concluding international agreements.

The Ministers further highlighted the importance of complying with the minimum cross-border flows at the Ressano Garcia gauging station and further encouraged Kobwa and the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency to work together towards ensuring the 2.6 m³ a second is achieved as prescribed in the Incomati-Maputo agreement.

In addition, the Ministers further committed their support to the Incomati-Maputo Water Commission as the new institution established to promote cooperation among Eswatini, Mozambique and South Africa to ensure the development, protection and sustainable use of water resources shared by the member States.

The meeting affirmed the continued healthy cooperation between both governments especially on transboundary water resources management.

A decision was taken that the Joint Water Commission should continue meeting at least once a year, while the Ministers would meet regularly to share updates and discuss progress on the work of the commission.