Speaking at the Water, Energy and Food -WEF Nexus for Eswatini, Minister of Agriculture and Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Honorable Jabulani Clement Mabuza said the approach would also assist the country to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
"The need for the holding dialogue is coming about following the realization that the efforts towards achieving meaningful development and security in the water, energy and food sectors are not being realized in the manner and pace that is desired by the government.
"The country is at the same time busy grappling with recovering from the Global COVID-19 Pandemic and the negative effects of the Ukraine - Russia war. The above events have had a devastating effect in the country's endeavor to achieve sustainable development as envisioned in the various high-level policies and strategies of the country," explained Honorable Mabuza.
The approach will help the country recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine- Eswatini Minister of Agriculture and Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Honourable Mabuza
The Eswatini water, energy and food nexus dialogue took place at the Hilton Garden Hotel, Mbabane on 25th August 2022 and was attended by a range of stakeholders including Principal Secretaries in the three sectors, Members of Parliament, Development Partners and representatives from the private sector .
The Southern African Development Community Secretariat (SADC) organized the dialogue as part of a series of national dialogues taking place in all Southern African member states.
Speaking during the Eswatini dialogue, Senior Program Officer – Food Security and Agriculture at the SADC Directorate of Food Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Duncan David Samikwa urged the meeting to brainstorm on national projects that could use the WEF Nexus approach.
"Under the second phase of this project, we are having these WEF Nexus national dialogues aimed to identify national WEF nexus priorities and showcase the benefits of how improved sectoral coordination can accelerate national investment opportunities. Another expected key outcome of this event is the establishment of a technical working group that will facilitate continuous engagements in Eswatini," he said.
Mr. Samikwa also committed that SADC would "continue to work with implementing partners and member states through the technical working group to ensure that efforts are made to mobilize resources for implementing the project identified from today's deliberations and to create an enabling environment to attain food, energy and water security, which will stimulate economic growth, and improve the quality of life of the people of Eswatini.”
Participants follow a presentation on the WEF Nexus approach during the Eswatini National Dialogue
SADC is working with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa in the implementation of the SADC Nexus Regional Dialogues Project.
Making a presentation during the Eswatini National Dialogue, GWPSA Program Officer, Ms. Annah Ndeketeya, said through the project, SADC Member States will receive technical support from both SADC and GWPSA to mobilize financing for implementation of prioritized national projects that integrate the WEF Nexus concept.
According to Ms. Ndeketeya, the Eswatini WEF Nexus dialogue forms part of the Nexus Regional Dialogues Program whose main objectives include "mainstreaming the WEF Nexus approach in governance and investment, developing concrete policy recommendations and governance frameworks for integrated resource management, identifying investment opportunities for multi- sectoral projects and providing innovative training, tools, guidelines and best practices to take the WEF Nexus approach from theory to practice.”
Through funding from the European Union, the SADC Secretariat is leading a multi-sector and stakeholder driven process in adopting the WEF Nexus approach in Southern Africa, through the SADC WEF Nexus Regional Dialogues Project.
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