Schedule (Section 2)
Agree Minute No. 7
7. Legal status of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)
The Ministers of Water affairs of the Nile Basin Countries, referring to the provisions of the signed Agreed Minutes of their meeting in Dar-es-Salaam on 22 February 1999 establishing a Transitional Institutional Mechanism of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), pending the conclusion of a Cooperative Framework Agreement to advance the Nile Basin Strategic Action Program in realization of the Shared Vision for the Nile Basin, “to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water resources”;Invest the NBI, on a transitional basis, with legal personality to perform all of the functions entrusted to it, including the power to sue and be sued, and to acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property;Recall that organs of the NBI include: the Council of Ministers of Water Affairs of the Nile Basin Countries (Nile-COM), which provides policy guidance and makes decisions on matters relating to the NBI; the Technical Advisory Committee (Nile-TAC), which renders technical advice and assistance to the Nile-COM; and the Nile Basin Secretariat (Nile-SEC), which renders administrative services to the NileCOM and Nile-TAC; ˣDecide that NBI shall enjoy in the territory of each Nile Basin State the legal personality referred to above and such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilled of its functions;Confirm that the headquarters of the NBI is situated at Entebbe, Uganda;Confirm that the Executive Director of the Nile-SEC is the principal executive officer of the NBI;Decide that the Executive Director, staff and officials of the NBI shall enjoy in the territory of each Nile Basin State such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of their functions;Confirm that a draft budget for each financial year is to be prepared by the Executive Director and approved by the Nile-COM on the recommendation of the Nile-TAC; that the resources of the budget are derived from annual contributions of the Nile Basin States and such other sources as may be determined by the Nile-COM; and that the contributions of the Nile Basin States are based on the budget as approved by the Nile-COM;Confirm that the accounts of the NBI relating to each fiscal year are to be audited the following fiscal year by an internationally recognized auditing firm selected on the basis of competitive bidding and submitted to Nile-TAC/COM for its review and approval; and that the NBI is to follow procurement and financial management practices that conform with international practices with the addition of any specific requirements of individual funding institutions.ˣDetails concerning the functions of the three bodies are contained in Annex I of the signed Agreed Minutes of the Dar-es-Salaam meeting of Nile-COM, 22 February 1999.