JUBA — South Sudan has called for stronger regional cooperation and sustainable management of shared water resources during the 24th Ordinary Meeting of the Sectoral Council of Ministers on the Lake Victoria Basin (SECOM) held in Kisumu, Kenya, from October 19 to 23, 2026.
Sultan Lam Tungwar Kueigwong, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, led a delegation of senior government officials to the meeting, which brought together ministers, senior government officials, and technical experts from East African Community (EAC) partner states.
Lam said South Sudan’s participation was essential because of the country’s hydrological and ecological connection to the Lake Victoria Basin through the White Nile system.
“This is not ceremonial participation. It is a strategic necessity. As the uppermost riparian of the White Nile System, South Sudan is hydrologically and ecologically tethered to the Lake Victoria Basin,” Lam said on Friday during the conclusion of the meeting in Kenya.
Lam said changes in the basin’s water balance, sediment movement, and ecosystem health could directly affect South Sudan’s water security, flood patterns, and livelihoods.
“The sustainable management of this critical transboundary resource cannot be achieved through fragmented national interventions,” Lam said, calling for stronger regional institutions and coordinated water management policies.
He emphasized the need for cooperation guided by Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), equitable and reasonable utilization of shared water resources, and the obligation to avoid causing significant harm to other countries.
“The sustainable management of this critical transboundary resource cannot be achieved through fragmented national interventions,” he said.
Lam also highlighted growing environmental pressures on the Lake Victoria Basin, including declining water quality, nutrient pollution, untreated wastewater discharge, unsustainable water abstraction, and prolonged droughts and severe flooding associated with climate change.
“We demand robust, institutionalized transboundary water institutions grounded in the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), equitable and reasonable utilization, and the obligation not to cause significant harm.”
According to Lam, these challenges threaten the basin’s ecosystem services and require coordinated responses from countries that share its water resources.
“To critically review the compliance matrix on the implementation of previous SECOM directives, to interrogate the performance of ongoing projects and appraise the pipeline portfolio against basin sustainability indicators,” he said.
He demanded the review of the implementation of previous SECOM directives, assessing ongoing projects and evaluating proposed investments against basin sustainability indicators.
He reaffirmed South Sudan’s commitment to strengthening the LVBC’s capacity to coordinate research, harmonize regional policies, and support investment in sustainable basin development.
The meeting brought together representatives from EAC partner states, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, under the guidance of the EAC Secretariat and the LVBC.
