OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA 5 Year No . 4 CONTENTS Proclamation No . 129 / 1998 Awash Basin Water Resources Administration Agency Establishment Proclamation . . . . . . . . Page 856 PROCLAMATION 129 / 1998 A PROCLAMATION TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AWASH BASIN WATER RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION AGENCY WHEREAS , it has become necessary to establish a government agency for the purposes of co - ordinating , ad ministering , allocating and regulating the utilization of the surface water resources of the Awash Basin ; NOW , THEREFORE , in accordance with Article 55 ( 1 ) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia , it is hereby proclaimed as follows : 1 . Short Title This proclamation may be cited as the “ Awash Basin Water Resources Administration Agency Establishment Proclamation No . 129 / 1998 . ” Definitions In this Proclamation : 1 ) “ Board ” means the Awash Basin Water Resources Administration Agency Board ; 2 ) “ Minister ” and “ Ministry ” means the Minister and Ministry of Water Resources respectively ; 3 ) “ Basin ” means the Awash River Basin ; 4 ) “ Water Works ” means activities which undertake studies on water resources , regulate or control the use of water , and includes any other activities relating with it . Unit Price 2 . 30 www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com Establishment 1 ) The ‘ Awash Basin Water Resources Agency ( hereinafter “ the Agency ' ' ) is hereby established as an autonomous public agency having its own legal personality . 2 ) The Agency shall be accountable to the Minister . Head Office The Agency shall have its Head Office in Amibara , and may have branch offices elsewhere as may be necessary . … 15 . Objectives The objectives of the Agency shall be to co - ordinate , administer , allocate and regulate the utilization of the | _ surface Water resources of the Basin . . . . 6 . Powers and Duties of the Agency . ' The Agency shall have the following powers and duties : 1 ) to administer the available water of the Basin that flows across or lies between more than one Regional Governments and regulate the flow of water of such rivers ; 2 ) to issue permits pursuant to appropriate law , to construct and operate water works , in relation to waters referred to in sub - Article ( 1 ) of this Article and regulate same ; 3 ) to allocate water to permittees and collect bulk charges for water use as determined by the Govern ment ; to undertake the maintenance of primary irrigation networks and main service roads and collect fees in accordance with a directive issued by the govern ment ; 5 ) to initiate improved water management methods , in co - operation with the appropriate institutions , by conducting studies pertaining to uses of water for irrigation ; 6 ) to cause measures to be taken by monitoring ground water level in order to prevent an occurrence of salinity problem in areas where irrigation develop ment works and projects are carried out ; to ensure and regulate the construction of irrigation water distribution and drainage structures ; diversion dams ; water control gates and dyks in accordance with safety standards to be issued by the Ministry , to cause preventive measures to be taken by conducting studies based on continuously collected data pertaining to flood situations and incidents that causes damage within the basin and carry out or cause to be carried out such planned and successive works having a permanent nature in order to prevent same . 9 ) to own property , to enter into contracts ; to sue and be sued in its own name ; 10 ) to carry out other activities as are necessary for the attainment of its objectives . 7 . Organization of the Agency The Agency shall have : 1 ) a board ; 2 ) a General Manager to be appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Board and ; 3 ) the necessary staff . www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com | 8 . Members of the Board 1 ) The Board shall have not more than members ; designated by the government from pertinent ins titutions . Powers and Duties of the Board The Board shall have the following powers and duties : 1 ) to follow - up and ensure the implementation of the objectives as well as the powers and duties of the agency provided in Articles 5 and 6 of this Proclamation ; 2 ) to prepare and submit to the Minister the or ganizational structure and administrative directives of the Agency and ensure its implementation upon approval ; 3 ) to review directives prepared by the Agency and ensure its implementation when approved by the Minister ; 4 ) to devise ways on how to consolidate , expand and progress the activities of the Agency ; 5 ) to review and submit to the Minister the plan , the draft budget and the work programme of the agency and follow - up regulate its implementation upon approval ; 6 ) to approve the appointment of officials directly accountable to the General Manager of the Agency ; 7 ) to report about the activities of the agency on every three months to the Minster . months ; extraordinary meetings may be convened any time when called by the Chairman or upon request of at least one third of the members . There shall be a quorum where more than half of the members are present at the meeting of the Board . 3 ) Decisions of the Board shall be passed by a majority vote ; in case of a tie , however , the Chairman shall have a casting vote . 4 ) Without prejudice to sub Articles ( 1 ) , ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) of this Article , the Board may adopt its own rules of procedure . 11 . Powers and Duties of the General Manager 1 ) The General Manager shall be the Chief executive officer of the Agency and shall , subject to the general directives given by the Board , direct and administer the activities of the Agency . Without limiting the generality of the provisions of sub - Article ( 1 ) of this Article , the General Manager shall : ( a ) exercise the powers and duties vested in the Agency under Article 6 of this Proclamation ; ( b ) employ and administer the employees of the Agency in accordance with directives to be issued by the Minster following the basic principles of the federal civil service law ; ( c ) prepare and submit to the Board the annual draft budget and work programme of the Agency ; www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com ( d ) select and submit to the Board for approval officials of the agency accountable to the general Manager ; effect expenditure in ‘ accordance with the ap proved budget and work programme of the agency ; represent the agency in all its dealings with third parties ; ( g ) submit to the Board , quarterly report on the activities of the agency . The budget of the agency shall be drawn from the following sources : 1 ) water charges and service fees collected in accor dance with this Proclamation ; and 2 ) any other sources . | 13 . Books of Accounts 1 ) The Agency shall keep complete and accurate books of accounts . 2 ) The books of accounts and financial documents of the Agency shall be audited by the Auditor General or by auditors designated by him . 4 . Effective Date This Proclamation shall enter into force as of the 10th day of November , 1998 . Done at Addis Ababa , this 10th day of November , 1998 . PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC · REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com