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DAM-L RSA/Namibia Water Dispute/LS (fwd)
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Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 11:42:06 -0800
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From: lori@irn.org (Lori Pottinger)
Subject: RSA/Namibia Water Dispute/LS
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Water dispute with Namibia looms
SouthScan
ANALYSIS
November 20,
2000
Johannesburg
South Africa has slammed the door on further
discussions with Namibia on the precise position of
the Orange River border between the two
countries.
The cabinet had decided that the country's
borders should not be tampered with and were not
open to discussion, a foreign affairs official said
this week.
The decision effectively closes talks on moving
the 1,000 km border to the middle of the river,
rather than the present high water mark on the
north bank.
Namibia has said it believes the South African
Government to have accepted the shift in
principle, the details of which were still being
worked out by a joint working group. This week, it
appeared the Namibian government was ignorant
of the South African decision.
Much is at stake in the long-running border
dispute. The existing border arrangement means
the entire river is effectively part of South Africa
and denies Namibia use of its waters - crucial in
parched southern Namibia - and affects the
mining rights of artisanal miners in the river as well
as grazing rights of pastoral communities like those
in the Richtersveld.
Most importantly, it affects the position of the
offshore border between the two countries, which
in turn affects fishing, the lucrative offshore
diamond mining rights and oil and gas
prospecting rights.
The situation is further complicated by the fact
that the river's mouth can shift by up to two
kilometres, making precise agreement on the
marine boundary difficult.
The border was originally established at the
northern highwater mark when Britain and
Germany were the colonial powers. Britain insisted
on the arrangement in order to enforce a
substantial buffer zone in the south of Namibia.
Shortly after Namibia became independent from
South Africa, in the course of discussions about
handing over Walvis Bay, the then Foreign
Minister Pik Botha apparently offered to move the
border to the middle of the river. The matter has
been under discussion since then.
The foreign affairs spokesman said it had been
decided that the OAU principles of respect for
colonial borders should be adhered to. There were
fears that if this border was shifted, a bad
precedent could be created, opening the door to
further conflict over land claims, like that of
Swaziland for SA's Ingwavuma territory.
"As far as the South African government is
concerned, this matter has now been lain to rest,"
he said.
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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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