The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is a corporation jointly and equally owned by the governments of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It is a governed by a four-person council consisting of the Ministers of Energy and Finance of each country. Its primary function is to operate and maintain the

Kariba Dam The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands tall and long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for and holds of water. Construction Th ...

on the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

River. The ZRA was established in 1987 as a successor to the Central African Power Corporation, which had formerly managed power generation and transmission from the Kariba Dam.

Zambezi River

The Zambezi originates in northwestern Zambia, and runs west and then southwest through

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

before reentering Zambia. It flows south and forms part of the border between Zambia and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. After picking up the waters of the

Chobe River The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called t ...

at the quadripoint where Zambia, Namibia,

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

and Zimbabwe meet, the river flows east along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, powering the shared Kariba Dam hydroelectric station, before entering

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and flowing to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The Zambezi basin also includes parts of Malawi and Tanzania. The Zambezi is the fourth largest river in Africa after the Nile, Congo and Niger.

Functions

Functions of the ZRA, as laid out in the acts that created the body, include: *Operate, monitor and maintain the Kariba Complex *Investigate the desirability of constructing new dams on the Zambezi River *Construct, operate, monitor and maintain any other dams on the Zambezi River *Collect, accumulate and process hydrological and environmental data of the Zambezi River *Make recommendations as will ensure the effective and efficient use of the waters and other resources of the Zambezi. The Zambezi River Authority also plays a role in managing the use of water from Lake Kariba for irrigation and for domestic, industrial and institutional use.

International claims

There has been tension between the countries that border the river. In the early 1990s, Zimbabwe proposed to build a pipeline to carry water south to supply the city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. Botswana also proposed to carry water south to

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

through an extension to the

North-South Carrier The North-South Carrier (NSC) is a pipeline in Botswana that carries raw water south for a distance of to the capital city of Gaborone. Phase 1 was completed in 2000. Phase 2 of the NSC, under construction, will duplicate the pipeline to carry ...

(NSC). Some of the NSC water could be shared with South Africa. These projects raised concern with downstream countries threatened by loss of water. The question of claims on the Zambezi water by nations bordering the river were settled by the 1995 Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on shared watercourse systems and establishment of the Zambezi River Authority. However, the commitment of member governments to honor the agreement seems weak and may not stand up to the pressures of climate change.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{Authority control Electric power companies of Zambia Electric power companies of Zimbabwe Zambezi River Zambia–Zimbabwe relations