Some seven years past, this writer recalls university students’ continuous yawns in the morning classes-a situation that left lecturers to wonder for a while.
Simply put, it was due to the students not having regular breakfasts after ‘agreeing’ to slash their morning meal bucket for weeks so that the money goes to buy the government bond that will finance the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), formerly known as the Grand Millennium Dam, project.
In fact, some of those lecturers have asked how the
then fellow students will be able to get the return on investment once the dam
starts cashing electricity generated. No sufficient explanation was given and
none was interested to scrutinize the matter in the middle of patriotic mantra.
Today, the GERD is a few weeks away from marking nine years since its milestone was laid under a scorching sun in Western Ethiopia, 40 km from the border with Sudan.
Arguably enough, this project twisted the wider public attention towards one greater cause, while Ethiopia was forced to finance the project with crowd funding through internal fundraising in the form of selling bond and persuading employees and the public to contribute for the project which is estimated to cost close to 5 billion US dollars.
Knocked with a lack of international finance the announcement of this dam was taken as a controversial milestone for transforming the country into Africa’s powerhouse in its pursuit of becoming a regional manufacturing industry hub, which pines for reliable energy sources.
Of course, the project has sparked concerns as Egypt’s alleged persistent campaign to maintain presumed hegemony on the “Nile water share” continued.
Though it took a long time before the initial plan of full completion; the successful completion of GERD without explicit support from western financial institutions will, in fact, have a significant impact on the perception and awareness of Nile water development as well as other development aspirations in the region.
The parallels between the planning, construction and financing of Egypt’s High Aswan Dam, (supported by America and Britain), and GERD, on the other hand, are stark reminders of critical role of the international community to promote cooperation and avoid unintended and lasting ripples on the socio-economic and political landscape of the region.
Currently, reaching about 71 percent, according to official data, GERD has been billed as a landmark project signaling Ethiopia’s renaissance. A high voltage electric transmission line has already been built at a cost of one billion US dollars waiting for GERD’s commissioning to be operational.
Fast forwards, the issue of the GERD topped the public attention again in the eve of 124th commemoration of Africa’s greatest victory of Adwa, with calls in and around the country to revamp and strengthen national unity. Needless to say that GERD has been a major unifying factor among Ethiopians in the past nine years or so.
Like his predecessors, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has shown a clear stance in that no force can stop Ethiopia to continue building the dam where he has reiterated time and again that hostilities between Ethiopia and Egypt over the project can only be resolved diplomatically.
That’s where the latest GERD tripartite negotiations came in as U.S. President Donald J. Trump has offered to be an observant through his Secretary of Treasury and the World Bank.
Nevertheless, there is an argument that Ethiopia’s government struck a poor negotiation position by accepting the U.S. as an honest observer from the start while many compared Ethiopia with Egypt in the face of the strategic alliance with the U.S. But one should not overlook that Ethiopia also offers its own importance in this deal.
At this point in time the question could hinge on: Can Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deliver an undivided nation after the August elections?
Well, at least this writer observes that many regular Ethiopians anticipate Abiy and his allies to secure sufficient constituencies so that a purposeful government will make up.
No matter how tough a job could it be for the premier’s administration to deal and seal the negotiations over the GERD; it is by far more complex to find a political consensus in the nation among elites that has been anchored by suspicion and division.
Many tend to fail back to destructive rhetoric as the democratic process grinds into a haul without a willingness to compromise among the self-appointed political forces across the nation.
Ethiopia cannot afford to go back at any circumstances where anger and hatred stew national unity. Likewise, its internal strength for being successful over the negotiation is mandatory.
Therefore, having the negotiations on the GERD unfolding, Prime Minister Abiy is presented with yet another opportunity to rally every Ethiopian behind him towards a truly united nation that respects and represents the interests of all its citizens.
Having been marched with such blessing in disguise the premier already amassed supports where there is great momentum and excitement that he can capitalize on in taking the nation to a meaningful track dodging the dangerously divisive tendencies.
This writer observes a general consensus among the public of the need by the government to stabilize and normalize the domestic political and security situations.
Hence it is imperative that Abiy’s leadership take a lesson from the successful tactic used by the EPRDF-led government in breaking the political malaise to create a close analogy through the GERD in igniting a national consensus which is proving to be a game-changer in the domestic politics.
With all the due respect to the wider public, many people tend to hit drums of vengeance when it comes to a national agenda instantly offering the government a chance to rally towards one greater national cause – a whole series of changes in the internal political discourse is essential, an issue that has been around for most of the last recent years.
The Ethiopian Herald March 10/2020
BY KIRAM TADESSE
