By Wallace Mawire
Zimbabwe will host a water resources and infrastructure investment summit on June 24 to 26 2015, to showcase all major water and water related projects in the country, according to a spokesperson for the host organisation, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate.
The spokesperson said that the summit will highlight the need and requirement on each project and where there is a need for engagement with funders, investors and technical partners.
“The Summit presents existing as well as pipeline projects, giving potential investors an opportunity to discuss and evaluate these projects and determine their appetite for participation. The Summit will also include expert plenary sessions and panel presentations featuring discussions by experts and professionals in specific key areas such as financing, green economies, mining and water sustainability,” the spokesperson said.
She added that the summit will also highlight specific infrastructure gaps, Zimbabwe’s emerging developments, and partnership opportunities and address the management of water resources as well as infrastructure developments.
“Delegates can look forward to participating in interactive discussions that focus on investment drivers, development of the Zimbabwe’s water sector capacity and use of water in other industries that include energy, mining and agriculture,” she added.
It is also reported that water scarcity and misuse is posing a serious and growing threat to sustainable development and protection of the environment the world over. Human health and welfare, food security, industrial development and the ecosystems on which they depend, are all at risk, unless water resources are managed more effectively in the present decade and beyond than they have been in the past.
The organizers say that the Summit calls for fundamental, collaborative new approaches to the assessment, development and management of water resources, which can only be brought about through commitment and involvement from Governments, business, private sector, the investor community all the way to rural communities.
“Commitment will need to be backed by substantial and immediate investment, public awareness campaigns, legislative and institutional changes, technology development, and capacity building programmes. Underlying all these must be a greater recognition of the interdependence of all peoples, and of their place in a community, a country and a continent,” the spokesperson said.
Sectors expected to attend the summit include: Government, Water and Waste Companies, Forestry related entities, Environmental, Water resource regulators and policy makers, Institutional Investors, Projects & Infrastructure Finance Lenders, Insurance Companies, Bank and Financing Houses, Agricultural entities, Legal Professional Service Consultants, Related technology enterprises, Manufacturers and Industry Associations, just to mention a few.
Featured Photo: Zimbabwe’s water summit could come up with solutions to infrastructural challenges affecting the sector.The photos depict water infrastructure breakdown in the CBD of Harare.