After failing to settle the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), U.S. has made public its stand for pursuing efforts for a deal among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the dam.
In its latest statement, Ethiopia says no more third party in GERD talks and its citizens have already opened “# It’s my dam’’ campaign on social media. For Egypt’s part, it has accused Ethiopia for hindering deliberately the course of negotiations.
Egypt also continues to insist that Ethiopia has to accept the deal that was drafted with input from the three countries by the U.S. Treasury Department. Though Sudan was expected to sign the accord in Washington D.C two weeks ago on the filling and operation of GERD, it did not so and only Egypt has initialed on the deal.
Therefore, Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mukhtar Bilal Abdelsalam told local media that Sudan will consolidate its support to GERD as it “is our view that the dam is not affecting the volume of the water for Sudan.” Sudan, moreover, rejected to endorse a draft resolution proposed by Egypt to the Arab League to support both Egypt and Sudan in the dispute over GERD on last Thursday.
Despite garnering diplomatic support for Egypt form U.S. and Arab League, some former officials and current congressman have protested against U.S.-brokered agreement on the dam. The former United States Ambassador to Ethiopia, David H. Shinn accused the Trump administration of “putting its thumb on the scale in favor of Egypt,” in the dispute with Ethiopia and Sudan over a new hydro-dam.
Also Congressman Steven Alexander Horsford called upon Trump administration to avoid discrepancy and balance stance toward GERD. Ever since Ethiopia announced the building of GERD on the Nile Basin, various scholars have been carefully weighing the move and have given thumbs up to this giant hydro dam in Africa.
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa and its population is projected to reach over 180 million in 2050. Furthermore, now 70 percent of Ethiopians do not have access to electricity. Therefore, such dam is crucial for improving these individuals’ livelihoods and also plays a big role in transforming Ethiopia’s economy, as to the scholars.
They also indicated that Egypt has been relentlessly putting efforts to maintain a self-claimed colonial era-based water allocation and veto power on any project in the Nile system while Ethiopia is in an attempt to redress a historic imbalance in exploitation of the Nile’s waters.
As a matter of fact Egypt consists over 90 percent desert areas and has Aswan Dam which is twice bigger than GERD. Ethiopia’s Water and Energy Minister Dr. Eng. Seleshi Bekele told reporters recently: “We are going to commence filling and one of the turbines of GERD will be producing power in March 2021.”
It is to be recalled that Ethiopia skipped the latest round of US-sponsored talks in Washington, saying it needs more time to deliberate the matter. In the strongest term, it also rejected “Resolution” of the Executive Council of the Arab League concerning GERD issued on 05 March 2020.
In the latest statement of the Ministry of Ethiopian Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia has reiterated its longstanding and firm position as expressed by successive governments that it “has the right to use its Nile water resources to meet the needs of the present and future generations.”
The statement went on saying that as the Nile is a trans-boundary water resource Ethiopia is committed to the principles of equitable and reasonable use, not causing significant harm and that of cooperation. For the time being, tensions are mounting between Addis Ababa and Cairo over GERD. Many believe their dispute won’t show a sign of end soon.
The Ethiopian Herald, March 10/2020
BY DANIEL BEYENE
