Ethiopia always committed to equitable utilization of the Nile waters

Ethiopia needs to increase its energy supply. The country aims to have a nationwide power supply by 2025. At present, however, only around 45 million of Ethiopia’s, 100 million inhabitants have access to electricity, according to various sources. In rural areas, in particular, very few people have an electricity supply.

For the past decade, Ethiopia’s economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world, averaging an 11 percent increase in GDP each year. Record GDP growth, coupled with a population growth rate of 2.3 per cent, has led to a staggering 14 per cent increase in energy demand. The country is making significant efforts to satisfy demand, maintain growth and supply a population where currently only 25 per cent have power connectivity.

That is why Ethiopia aimed to quadruple installed capacity by prioritizing large hydro developments and achieving total power installed capacity of 10,000 MW by 2015.

Dr. Mekonen Ayana, a member of Adama Science and Technology University Water Resource Engineering Department, raised few points about how important the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is in an interview with local media recently.

He said the majority of Ethiopians do not have access to electricity. Thus, GERD will have its own share in improving the lives of many by transforming the country’s economic base from agriculture to industry.

In short, the construction of GERD would have a paramount importance to achieve these lofty goals by supplying adequate power to the economy. It has also boosted the confidence of Ethiopians in accomplishing other projects to achieve development.

Apart from accelerating economic growth nationally, GERD will have an immense role in speeding up economic integration and development activities in the horn. Hence, it is a must that fair and equitable utilization of the Nile is ensured.

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was born on February 22, 1999, in Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, following the signing of the minutes of the meeting by nine of the Nile Ministers of water resources in attendance.

The NBI is guided by a shared vision “to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water resources.” The NBI has done many activities to benefit riparian countries for 10

 consecutive years. However, as it was planned, NBI concluded without establishing a commission that manages equitable water utilization among countries.

Work started immediately on the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) and lasted ten years. However, by 2009, major differences over some basic issues erupted, and could not be resolved, neither at the technical, nor at the political levels, leading to the impasse on the CFA. These major differences persisted as a result of the resurfacing and hardening of the respective positions of the Nile riparian over the colonial treaties, as well as the Egyptian claims to what they see as their acquired uses and rights of the Nile waters, and the rejection of these claims by the upper riparian.

The upper riparian continued with their projects on the Nile not withstanding the impasse over the CFA, and the erosion of the NBI. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which commenced in 2011, has proven a major challenge to, and a source of a bitter dispute between Ethiopia on the one hand, and Egypt and a Sudan on the other. However, by December 2013, Sudan broke ranks with Egypt and declared its full support of the GERD.

Egypt followed, albeit reluctantly, fifteen months later. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia concluded in March 2015, through their head of states the Agreement on Declaration of Principles on the GERD (DoP). Egypt and Sudan basically accepted, through the DoP, the GERD and declared for the first time ever “the significance of the River Nile as a source of livelihood and the significant resource to the development of the people of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.”

The three countries agreed further “to cooperate based on common understanding, mutual benefit, good faith, win-win, and the principles of international law, (as well as) in understanding upstream and downstream needs in its various aspects.” The DoP went on to state explicitly that “the purpose of the GERD is for power generation to contribute to economic development, promotion of trans boundary cooperation and regional integration…”

The DoP included other provisions on equitable and reasonable utilization, the obligation not to cause significant harm, as well as a peaceful settlement of disputes. It also contained explicit provisions on the GERD, including cooperation on filling its reservoir, as well as its safety. The DoP was confirmed nine months later through the signature by the three countries of the

 Khartoum Document in December 2015 at their 4th tripartite meeting.

In October, Egypt announced that talks over the Ethiopian dam had reached a dead end and called for international mediation and talked with the US marginalizing Ethiopia and Sudan though it later invited them to be part of the discussion which held for four times and concluded without reaching consensus.

Dr. Mekonen said Ethiopia wants to esteem international water law and principles which highly emphasizing on equitable and reasonable water utilization. As it is clearly stipulated in the international water law article, Ethiopia has an autonomous right to use its own water resources found in its boundary without significantly harming riparian countries.

In principle, many rivers in the world cross more than two countries. But, countries are governed by the aforesaid principle, pertaining win-win solution. Thus, the deal between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt should be in spirit of cooperation and coordination not denying Ethiopia’s autonomous right of water utilization, he added.

Egypt proposed that GERD can hold water but it needs to release water to Aswan dam declines. The point they missed here is, Ethiopia has no desire to block Nile water once and for all. That is why; the nation is constructing the dam on its border. GERD is an advantage for Egypt. For instance, it will hold 200 billion m3 soils that run off to Aswan dam per year, he said.

Egyptians are now accepted Ethiopia’s right to build GERD. This is by itself an achievement for Ethiopia, Dr. Mekonen said. The construction of the dam is yet concluded, but Egypt raised questions regarding the filling and operation of the dam. By doing so, they are trying to pressurize Ethiopia and Sudan to sign the document prepared by Egypt.

“As the GERD is an Ethiopian dam, we will not solicit the consent of Egypt to construct, hold water and operate it. Their shout is temporary and it will come down. But, Ethiopia should not refrain itself from doing diplomatic works,” he emphasized.

The Ethiopian Herald April 2/2020

BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW