Egypt says that Ethiopia rejecting coordination mechanism over GERD.
As usual, we will present the source report first, and then we will bring up our views on the matter.
Ethiopia is refusing to accept a coordination mechanism to achieve a fair and binding agreement on the filling and operation of its Renaissance Dam, said Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Aty according to Arab News. The establishment of a huge dam such as the Renaissance Dam, without coordination with the Egyptian High Dam, is a precedent that has not occurred before, and requires a clear and binding coordination mechanism between them, which Ethiopia rejects he added.
He said Egypt has agreed to the construction of other dams in Nile Basin countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia, and does not object to the Renaissance Dam, but is concerned that a legally binding agreement has not been reached. Abdel-Aty added that Egypt meets 97 percent of its water needs from the Nile River. The African Union is supervising the Renaissance Dam negotiations, which bring together Ethiopia on one side and Egypt and Sudan on the other.
Previous rounds of negotiations between the three countries have failed, with Ethiopia insisting on completing the filling of the dam’s reservoir.
Here is our reflection to this report and how Ethiopia sees the situation:
GERD is a very vital project for Ethiopia and its people. Its completion alleviates the power shortages where the majority of its people still live without electricity even after over 150 years of its invention. GERD’s completion also boosts the Ethiopian economy and it has also multiplier effects. Furthermore, the completion of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam enhances the regional integration among the eastern African countries as the generated electricity also to be exported to them, Sudan being the primary beneficiary of this. Ethiopia has no plan to harm its neighbours but share the benefits derived from this natural resource as usual. Ethiopia is the source of more than 85% of the Nile River but never managed to utilise its God given resource for different reasons.
On the other hand, Egypt has been a monopoly user and beneficiary of the Nile River fortunately.
The time has come now for Ethiopia to build the GERD funded by its own people. Comprehensive expert and professional researches undertaken by taking into account all positive and any negative impacts it may cause. The concerns of both Sudan and Egypt are integrated into the GERD Project.
Ethiopia, as a fair country always ensures its project not negatively affecting the other party or parties. This means that Egypt’s water question is also included and worked out in the implementation of the GERD Project. Ethiopia doesn’t demand monopoly power like Egypt.
Egyptians always unfairly wanted to have a monopoly power in the Nile River. Egypt’s question is monopoly rather than water shortage claimed to be caused by GERD. Egypt even globally considered to be the source of the Nile because of its monopoly association with the River. And yet Ethiopia who is contributing more than 85% has never been known as the source of this great River.
The intention of Ethiopia however is not as such the association of its name with the Nile River but using its natural resource without affecting the downstream countries based on the global convention of transboundary waters. As we said, Sudan is primary beneficiary of the GERD and has always agreed to its implementation before the military government came to power in Sudan. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been serving the interests of Egypt rather than its own people. As the result, he is messing up the lives of our Sudanese brothers and sisters! Still public protests are going on regularly in Khartoum and other cities demanding the establishment of a government that serves its own people not a puppet like the current one. Egypt is just using Sudan for its own benefit.
Egyptians even telling Ethiopia not to build GERD as it is unnecessary, citing that Ethiopia has plenty of Rainfall. They are trying to dictate which natural resource Ethiopia has to use because of its inherent monopolistic nature. The only thing that Ethiopia hasn’t incorporated in the GERD project is the the Egypt’s monopolistic question not the water one.
