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dam-l Epupa meeting delayed/LS

>From The Namibian:

       Decision delay on Epupa dam

       CHRISTOF MALETSKY

       A FINAL decision on whether to proceed with the Epupa hydropower
       scheme has been further delayed after Namibia and Angola postponed a
       planned meeting which was to discuss reports submitted by the consultants
       working on the feasibility of the project.

       The October 29-30 Namibia-Angola Permanent Joint Technical Commission
       (PJTC) meeting expected to take place in Windhoek did not materialise
       because of the busy schedules of officials from both governments.

       A new date has yet to be set for the meeting which was expected to make
       recommendations to the two governments and choose a final site for the
       scheme.

       When the PJTC met in Windhoek the last time, it pinpointed some
       shortcomings in the report by the consortium of consultants comprising of
       Namibian, Angolan, Swedish and Norwegian (Namang) companies and said
       there was need for the verification of some facts before the project
could
       finally be concluded.

       "With due consideration of the problems indicated above, the PJTC was not
       in a position to discuss the matter of the selection of the single
site (Epupa or
       Baynes) for implementation as envisaged. Instead, this topic has been
       postponed for discussion and formulation of the final recommendation
to the
       two governments at the next PJTC meeting," the joint chairmen of the
PJTC,
       Siseho Simasiku (Namibia) and Armindo Gomes Da Silva (Angola) said
       earlier this year in a statement.

       The major shortcomings related to the incomplete consideration of
       mitigation measures, the lack of a complete proposal for an environmental
       management and post-construction monitoring plan, inconclusive work
       performed on the bilateral agreement and the non-inclusion of the
terms of
       reference for the phase three work," the statement said.

       The study contained comments on the project by Supervision Committee for
       the Feasibility Study (SCFS), and other organisations such as the World
       Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Norwegian Water and Energy
       Administration Directorate (NVE) which were specifically requested by the
       PJTC to review the draft report.

       In spite of the statement, sources claimed that the two governments were
       locked in a war of words over whether the controversial scheme should be
       constructed at the Epupa or Baynes site.

       Inside sources claimed that while Namibia wanted Epupa, their Angolan
       counterparts were keen on the Baynes site and that everything had to
do with
       "international politics".

       "Both sides have very strong arguments and claim that the project
might as
       well be abandoned if neither of them can get the desired results," a
source
       told The Namibian.

       The Angolans are believed to be keen on the Baynes site because it
will mean
       they will be able to renovate the Gove dam inside Angola which was
       damaged during the civil war and has not been repaired since 1975.

       "It will also mean that development will come to the Huambo area - a kind
       of battle field - but everything will depend on the peace process in
Angola,"
       according to a source.

       It is also a well known fact that Namibia is not keen on the Baynes
site. The
       Government sees it as too small, despite its environmental and social
       advantages compared to the other sites considered. In sharp contrast the
       Epupa site is regarded as a prestige site by Namibia.

       Namibia also cites the uncertain peace situation in southern Angola,
and the
       millions of dollars needed to repair the Gove dam as factors in
favour of the
       larger Epupa site.

       The Epupa site is seven kilometres downstream from the falls and is
likely to
       displace some 700 Himba people. The area flooded at the Baynes site, some
       40 kilometres downstream from the Epupa falls, would be 94 sq kms while
       Epupa would cover more than 250 sq kms.

       November 3, 1998

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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