With Ethiopian, Sudanese and Egyptian heads of state agreeing to review previous technical works on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at ministerial level, experts warn on possible derail of entire technical consultations unless Egypt stops slippery positions and give the technical matter a political fig leaf.
Talks on technical issues have seen frequent halts due to Egypt’s temporized position; stalemates which experts think would cast shadow on regional hydro cooperation. Since the launching of the Dam back in 2011, Ethiopia has opted for limiting the issue into technical contexts with which various technical committees have been formed with various jurisdictions.
However, no substantial progress has been made with Egypt switching the matter intopolitical level. The latest is the National Independent Research Group set up to study technicality of the dam filling. The group has produced useful results after holding four rounds of meetings to look at the filling and filling operation of the dam.
Recently, foreign and intelligence ministers of the three countries have convened in Addis Ababa but failed to seal an agreement ascribable to Egypt’s refusal. Hope has been renewed as leaders of the three countries met in Addis Ababa on the sideline of the 32nd AU session held this week.
Based on the directions the leaders and the ministerial level technical group will look into every matters and is expected to produce final report, he said, noting that the leaders will then make final decisions, Dr. Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity told journalists There are technical solutions for every technical problem.
The issue of the Dam is a technical issue and all problems could be solved technically, Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO) Executive Director Fekahmed Negash. “Egypt is trying to use the Dam as a cover to grab a long standing issue of water allocation to their advantage. That is why they are seen now and again taking the issue of the dam to the political and security level,” he says.
This is a very dangerous move that should be avoided at any level, he stress, adding it is advisable to systematically bounce the process back to the technical level so that the required solution can be obtained, comments Fekahmed.
The engagement of the countries on matters relating to the Dam should be maintained and sustained at a technical level. When the technical level engagement run into stalemate, the political level can come in reengage the technical level and withdraw systematically. If this is maintained, Egypt would cut hope that the opportunities they are seeking from the political level would not come up and opt for agreeing to the technical findings.
The political level can make all strategic decisions needed for the improvement of relations between the countries at national level. Egyptian authorities know pretty well that at technical level, they could not prove any of the allegations they have been claiming about the Dam. Egyptian Authorities know very well that they could not ensure their long hidden agenda of securing their so called water share at a technical level, he notes.
The only viable and available approach towards the Dam is technical consultations. There is nothing political about the project but Egypt is seen trying to paint the issue a political color, seconds Asst. Prof. Birhanu Blachew a geo-politician at Kotebe Metropolitan University. “Cairo ought to stop buying time,” he underscores.
Ethiopia has come up with different alternatives with regard to the Dam filling which is purely technical. However, Egypt is bidding time by changing the level of consultation frequently, he comments. “If the thing remains unchanged from the Egyptian side, Ethiopia may have to resort to unilateral decision and finalize the Dam, for doing so does not result in harm to the downstream countries.”
On the other hand, the construction of the Dam is ongoing with hydromechanical works transferred to international companies. There is a desire from the government side to overcome the delay and speed up the construction of the Dam.
The government has taken various measures and has set direction to put the construction on speedy path. On his address to the parliament recently, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed reiterates once again that finalizing the standard-bearer project is a matter of life and death for Ethiopians. And people from all corners of the country share similar stand and are eagerly waiting to see the completion of the project.
The Ethiopian Herald February 15/2019
BY DESTA GEBREHIWOT
