Secretariat of the Joint Songwe River Basin Commission (S-SRBC)

The Governments of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Malawi are jointly implementing the
Songwe River Basin Development Programme (SRBDP), which is managed by the Secretariat of the Joint Songwe
River Basin Commission (S-SRBC) with offices located at Kyela, Tanzania. The Songwe River Basin (SRB) covers an
area of 4,243 km2
in seven districts of: Karonga and Chitipa (in Malawi); and Kyela, Mbeya Rural, Ileje, Mbozi and
Momba (in Tanzania). The basin is part of the wider Zambezi River basin. The river forms part of the border between
Malawi and Tanzania. Increasing competition for space, water and natural resources is degrading the Songwe River
Basin.
Both riparian countries in 2017 ratified the Convention on the Establishment of the Joint Songwe River Basin
Commission (SRBC) to sustainably manage the basin natural resources and implement the Songwe River Basin
Development Programme (SRBDP). The Convention came into force on 1st July, 2018. The SRBDP is a multipurpose
transboundary Programme under which the challenges and opportunities resulting from the behaviour of the Songwe
River are planned to be worked on through various projects. The projects are to cover construction of dams for flood
control and hydropower productions, development of irrigated agriculture, water supply, fisheries and tourism to
mention a few including non-structural measures.
The Strengthening Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Songwe River
Basin (STCINRM-SRB) Project as one of the non-structural measures has been established to prepare the ground for
the implementation of the SRBDP by addressing the problem of environmental degradation. Specifically, the Project
objective is to enhance basin protection, livelihoods and integrated water resources management through improved
transboundary cooperation and sustained ecosystem services. The Project will be implemented for a period of four
years.
The Secretariat of the Joint Songwe River Basin, therefore, seeks to use part of the proceeds of the grant package to
recruit individual consultants to fill the positions of the Hydrologist/FEWS Expert; a Financing Mobilisation/M&E
Expert; an Environmental/Agro/Forestry Management Expert; an ICT/GIS/MIS Expert; and a Procurement Expert
to provide services in the Project at the S-SRBC headquarters in Kyela, Tanzania.