As part of the support to Member States of the Volta Basin Authority (ABV) for the ratification and implementation of the Water Charter, national consultation workshops with technical structures and Civil society organizations were held in the six states sharing the Volta River.
These workshops aimed to inform and sensitize stakeholders on the content of the Water Charter and on the diagnostic report on the prior notification of the planned measures in the Volta basin and build communication actions around the Water charter.
As a reminder, the objective of the Volta Basin Water Charter is to set the principles and modalities for equitable, concerted and sustainable use of the shared water resources of the Volta Basin. It contributes to the reinforcement of sub-regional integration and solidarity within the framework of the community of interests which binds the Member States for the reinforcement of the food security and the energy security of the populations and for the sustainable development of the basin of the Volta.
The overall architecture of the Charter presented reveals three main parts: the preamble, the 8 titles (with 25 chapters and 170 articles) forming the body of the text. The appendices being drafted, three in number (03), will be submitted for validation during a regional workshop.
Also, with a view to ratification, meetings to discuss and sensitize national political decision-makers on the Water Charter took place on the sidelines of the two days of workshops. The decision-makers met are, among others, parliamentarians and political authorities at the highest level (Ministers, Directors of Cabinet, Secretary General of Ministries, Secretaries General of Government etc.). They unanimously welcomed this approach by the Executive Management and committed to playing their part when the time came.
Dissemination of messages promoting the Water Charter to the general public, through the written press, radio, television and social networks have also been a flagship activity in this dynamic of support for the ratification process of the Volta Basin Water Charter in each member state of the Volta Basin Authority.
