They are part of 639 projects earmarked for member countries between 2008 and 2027. The Niger Basin Authority, a shared vision for the sustainable development of the Niger Basin, has announced 42 action plans for implementation in the Cameroon section of the basin at a total cost of FCFA 162,549 billion. The action plans are part of 639 projects worth over
FCFA 3.645 trillion earmarked for realization in member countries of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) between 2008 and 2027. The Executive Secretary of NBA, Oyewole Ogunmola, made the disclosure Friday August 14 during the 5th national workshop for information and sensitization of the Water Charter of the Niger Basin which held at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel. He said the projects are geared towards the development of infrastructure for water storage, conservation and utilization for agriculture, hydropower, fisheries and transportation as well as agro-forestry, silting control, erosion control, poverty eradication and socio-economic development of the populations in the basin. The Yaounde workshop, he said, was to drill member countries and stakeholders on the best practices to adopt to ensure the sustainability of the resources of the basin. ??The trans-boundary nature of the River Niger, coupled with the socio-economic impact of the proposed actions on the populations of member countries, call for the development of a legal instrument to guide stakeholders towards achieving equitable utilization of the Basin resources, the NBA scribe said. The instrument, ??the Water Charter of the Niger Basin?? was adopted by the 8th summit of the Heads of State and Government on April 30, 2008. The adoption was the implementation of the 2004 Paris Declaration and the Shared Vision concept by the member states of the NBA. Participants at Friday??s workshop described the charter as a genuine legal instrument, essential for the concerted and sustainable management of water resources and for the management of possible conflicts which may arise among users of the said resources. It is also a reference document for NBA member countries in the planning of their national development schemes in the portion crossed by the River Niger, its tributaries and sub-tributaries. Mr. Ogunmola decried the wanton destruction of the basin caused by human activity and enjoined all and sundry to work resolutely in making the basin what it was in the yesteryears. Sitting in for the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Awum Daniel Anaraban described the basin as a jewel on the neck of NBA members which should be jealously preserved for posterity.
Godlove BAINKONG, CT