ADDIS ABABA – Ensuring the right to utilize the Nile Water equitably and fairly is sensible to end extreme poverty, Engineer Tefera Beyene remarked.
Advisor to the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy on trans-boundary rivers Affairs, Engineer Tefera Beyene speaking to the daily Amharic newspaper ‘Addis Zemen’ said that though Egyptians say “Nile is a matter of existence to Egypt, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is also a matter of sovereignty and survival to Ethiopians.
Since the flagship project has commenced to beat poverty and Ethiopians hope to realize sizeable development, exerting all-out efforts and completing the dam as per schedule is vital
He also noted, as the GERD is being constructed on a transboundary river, Ethiopia has been engaged in prolonged and rigorous discussions and consultation among riparian countries. As the negotiation is not yet finalized, pertinent stakes should maintain efforts through diplomacy and technical approaches to reach a fair deal.
According to him, GERD construction has reached the first phase filling. Ethiopia is going to fill the dam as per the agreement on declaration of principles. To clear the misinformation circulating around the filling process, stringent diplomatic works should be dispensed among the riparian countries.
Completing the filling of the reservoir, and the effort to commence trial power generation through the two turbines should be strengthened more than ever before Ethiopia has been striving to update the downstream countries on the project and that it could not cause significant damage, and this fact must be told to the international community in bold fashion.
As Ethiopia is not signatory of the 1929 and 1959 Nile water agreements, both are not binding; and it also gives Egypt the right to veto any projects on the river waters, which is unacceptable.
The two agreements do not have legal grounding and the ‘historical right’ rhetoric does not hold water before international law. it is high time to herald to the international community that Ethiopia is constructing the dam to pull out millions of its citizens from abject poverty.
“As sovereign state, Ethiopia has the right to utilize its natural resources appropriately to ensure development.”
While Egyptians are actively involved in advocating Egypt’s cause through various means, Ethiopians are performing less so. Thus, each fellow citizen should work as an ambassador, and the media houses should discharge their responsibility in this regard.
Senior Ethiopian water experts should come together to conduct research on Nile River and let the international community be informed Ethiopia’s perspectives towards GERD and the basin. Egypt academicians have more organize platforms than we do, this scenario should be changed.
He concluded by calling upon fellow citizens to continue with more fervor until the completion of the dam; and to toil as ambassadors for a fair and equitable utilization of the shared water resources of Nile river among the riparian countries.
The Ethiopian Herald May 27, 2020
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
