Over forty partners were present for the General Assembly and all the members of the steering committee were present for the Steering Committee meeting.
Gender at the heart of the General Assembly
The General Assembly meeting which was supported by GWP-CAf had as objective to examine and adopt the 2017-2020 activity report and the 2018-2020 financial report of the Country Water Partnership, approve the amendments made to the statutory documents, elect new members for the Steering Committee and present the WACDEP-G program to partners. It brought together Partners of the CWP including technical and financial partners like UNICEF and WWF, as well as GWP-CAf representatives.It was chaired by the Chair of CAR CWP, Mr. Rodrigue Prosper YAKENDE with the GWP-CAf Regional Chair, Mr. Sylvain GUEBANDA as co-chair.
In his opening speech the Chair thanked the partners for their continuous contribution to advancing IWRM in the country and the Steering Committee members for supporting him throughout his mandate as chair of CAR CWP. He also emphasized on the need to do more with regards to mobilizing funding to achieve the vision of a water secure Central African Republic.
On his part, the Regional Chair congratulated the CAR CWP team and partners for results achieved in 2020 despite the challenges. He also called on the CWP to continue with dedication the process of mobilizing readiness funds from the Green Climate Fund which will go a long way to advance Climate resilience in the country.
The meeting was marked by the presentation of the AIP WACDEP-G program which is in its start-up phase at the regional level by Ms. Henriette BIKIE, GWP-CAf Gender Technical Advisor. She highlighted the objectives and expected results of the Programme as well as the countries and transboundary basins targeted for its implementation .
A highlight of the meeting was the appointment of new Steering Committee members for the following colleges: Administration, Water Suppliers, Media, Civil Society, Academic Institutions, Women Affairs and Youth Engagement. Another highlight was the adoption after reformulation of the amendments on Article 10 of the Statutory Document and Article 3 of the Internal regulation concerning partner adhesion regulations and procedures.
Key recommendations were made by the partners to:
- improve the quality of reports and finalize the 2017 – 2020 Activity Report
- increase the visibility of the CWP by creating a Facebook page and website
- develop a strategic budget action plan in collaboration with the technical committee to facilitate the mobilization of funds.
- Create an account for CAR CWP
- Insert the amended texts in the two statutory documents.
Chair of CWP CAR mandate renewed by the Steering Committee
The CWP CAR Steering Committee meeting had as objective to appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair, brainstorm on the priorities and action plan of the CWP, exchange ideas on the Procedure Manual and strategize on how to mobilize readiness funds from the Green Climate Fund.
The Steering Committee meeting of the CAR CWP had as objective to appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair, brainstorm on the priorities and action plan of the CWP, exchange ideas on the Procedure Manual and strategize on how to mobilize the readiness funding from the Green Climate Fund.
After a reminder on the mission and duties of the Steering Committee by the Executive Secretary of CAR CWP, Mr. Sekou Gary, the members proceeded to unanimously renew the mandate of Rodrigue YAKENDE as the Chair of CAR CWP, while Mrs. Delphine KONDJI was elected Vice-Chair
Regarding a Procedure Manual for the CWP, the members all agreed that it was an essential document which will go a long way to facilitate the mobilization of funds from financial and technical partners. The members applauded the nomination of GWPO as a delivery partner for the Green Climate Fund “Readiness” Funding and expressed the need to continue the mobilization process in collaboration with the National Climate Coordination unit.
In line with the WACDEP G program, the members instructed the executive secretary to share all key documents of the program on the management of surface water and promotion of sustainable agriculture in the urban areas of Bangui with the Gender Advisor to ensure that the gender aspect is taken into account and reinforced.
The meeting ended with a note of thanks from the Chair to the members for their participation and efforts to address the challenges of the CWP.