BY FITSUM GETACHEW
It’s been now about ten years since we have been consistently talking about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, GERD. In simple terms, this is a project on a river and its objective is to harness some water behind it and then release it so that it turns the turbines installed and thereby generate electricity.
Ethiopia is a country of more than one hundred ten million people of whom more than three quarters do not even have electric power. There is no need to mention here the importance of electric power in a society such as ours where people, besides not having light in the evenings, they also suffer all sorts of development challenges.
Access to potable water at the doorsteps of the houses, infrastructure of various sorts such as roads, schools, health centers and modern housing to the people can be cited here.
Ethiopians are struggling to conquer their daily livelihood due to various challenges despite their country being naturally endowed with various resources.
The fact that it is a country with rich ancient history and glorious past does not extract it from the reality of being among the least developed countries in the world. Measuring the standard of life of Ethiopians using any human development indicators, the United Nations has found among the least developed.
This is embarrassing for Ethiopians. And now that it is undergoing a political transition in which it is trying to overcome a totalitarian system replacing it with a more pluralistic and democratic system, the challenges are getting even more urgent and complex.
But above all, given all the recent setbacks in climate change and frequent scarcity of seasonal rains, the backbone of the economy, agriculture, had to suffer setbacks.
Ethiopia is now among those that have suffered the worst consequences of climate change. Millions rely on humanitarian assistance and many more are embraced in some form of safety net programs.
All these issues have prompted the government to look far ahead and try and face the people’s problems with ambitious and long term mega projects. The GERD is one of them. The GERD can be understood only if we consider the entire context of the problems the country faces.
Undoubtedly, Ethiopia realizes that not only has the right to exploit its resources to benefit its population but it also realizes that it has a moral duty to do it. Harnessing one’s natural resources to the best benefit of citizens is the first step to take towards facing the challenges of development any country may face.
Furthermore, the issue of the right to use one’s resources reasonably is directly linked with that of sovereignty. This is a point that can never be overestimated. If there are doubts in this respect, all the rest becomes overwhelmingly precarious!
Hence, Ethiopia needs to develop its natural resources to the limits of its potential. So do other countries. This is an undisputed reality. The issue of developing our water resources includes all those that are confined in the country as those that cross the boundaries.
Abay (the Nile) is probably the biggest one. For many reasons Ethiopia never embarked up on the development of the potential of this river. But this cannot be taken as an abdication to its sovereign rights nor to subscribing to the convictions of the riparian countries! This point needs to be cleared and underlined.
A fundamental statement that needs to be conveyed to both friends and foes alike is that Ethiopia has never subscribed to the colonial pacts that are now referred to by many as determining the regulation of the Nile waters. Our neighbours may be fond of continuously referring to this infamous pact as ‘a document of undisputed authority’.
But it is clear that no international law decrees that countries are bound by treaties to which they are not a party! This is the ABC of international relations.
The case of the tripartite pact on the Nile waters that was sealed between the colonial master Britain and the colonies Egypt and Sudan cannot be imposed on Ethiopia who was not only uninvited to the pact, but also never consulted!
This may have been the ‘norm’ during colonial times. The idea of ‘might is right’ may have prevailed. But no one with their sane mind can today refer to such attitude to be acceptable! Ethiopian history is full of chapters with citizens patriotically demonstrating their disgust and resistance to foreign subjugation.
There is no reason why it becomes all of a sudden acceptable today! It does not exist in the DNA of Ethiopians. Fighting all forms of foreign dominion has always been a way of life for Ethiopians. And tons of historical evidence testify to it.
A substantial part of Ethiopian history teems with campaigns staged to combat foreign invasions. It has across the centuries fought successfully those incursions and aggressions. The one that Ethiopians are preparing to mark this month, that is Adwa, is just one of them!
Ethiopia does have a solid reputation of respect for international law and practice. Its records show definitely how it was a founding member of the UN and the same with the AU but this time also offered its land to host the seat of the continental body. More over, it has contributed consistently to international peace keeping by sending troops to fight to places such as Korea and Congo.
Very recently it has sent troops to several African countries such as Rwanda, Liberia and South Sudan. This has contributed to build the image of Ethiopians as trustworthy and honorable. Resisting to unfair pacts that deprives it of its inherent sovereignty rights cannot be taken as violating international law as some would like to suggest. No power whatsoever could force Ethiopia to subscribe to a pact that would put at risk the future of its citizens. Such Ethiopian government would commit a crime against its people!
The issue of ‘sharing the Nile waters equitably and permanently’ as Ethiopia sustains is the core point in any negotiation on the river. Colonial pacts have no space in such deal. We have observed politicians in Egypt and Sudan falling in this trap.
In one way or another, the Nile Basin countries are entitled to be interested in what is going on with the river. The matter is not a monopoly of any country. Even Ethiopia which contributes more than 3/4th of the water cannot posture to have such monopoly as we hear Egypt alleging fairy tales such as Egypt is the natural or historical owner of the Nile. What Egypt can do is redraw the map may be and put its boundaries with the Nile’s source in it.
History tells us there were similar attempts in the past but failed miserably. Today, in the twenty first century, there seems to revive such ambition! What a sad ambition though! Some politicians still believe in fairy tales misleading their peoples. They prefer to deny the stark reality! Some people still believe that the age of slavery is still here.
It is embarrassing to discover that millions of Sudanese and Egyptians have been hoodwinked to believe that the Nile originates in their territory! Some believe that Aswan Dam is the source of the Nile. Propaganda cannot create a new reality that exists in the minds of those who peddle it.
Unfortunately the results could be catastrophic because authoritarian leaders do thrive on the blood and sweat of their subjects! How can a government continue to lie to its citizens about blatant realities? Entertaining fairy tales in the 21st Century seems a miracle!
Those who argue that Egypt is totally reliant on the Nile water for its survival and hence deserves special rights on it forget to consider how much Ethiopia is losing by abdicating to its legitimate right to have a fair share of the waters that originate in its own bosom. Besides, the fact that it takes with it millions of tons of precious soil should not have been lightly dismissed!
Those who are rushing to talk only about Egypt in the context of the Nile forget to consider the rights of 110 million souls who struggle in darkness. Contrarily 98% of Egyptians enjoy twenty four hour electric light! People who are anxious to condemn Ethiopia’s moves to develop the Nile waters do not take into account that more than sixty million people in Ethiopia lack potable water to drink, a far cry from the situation in Egypt.
And yet the water on which Egyptians rely for their consumption originates in Ethiopia! Doesn’t this look embarrassingly unfair? How can Ethiopians accept to suffer in silence from drought and famine while they are the source of a bountiful river such as the Nile?! Would any other country in the shoes of Ethiopia settle to accept such predicament over its people? Would Egypt or Sudan accept such scenario if they were in the shoes of Ethiopians?!
No one can dispute that the colonial pacts of the nineteenth century were a result of the mentality of those days. For various reasons Ethiopia did not have the need nor the strength or might to oppose or stop the sealing of such pact. It understood that the move was potentially interference on its sovereignty and it dutifully sent a notice to that effect.
But it was ignored. Today more than six decades later, such injustice cannot be sustained anymore. All nations are entitled to equal rights notwithstanding their presumed might, force or importance.
Neither Egypt nor Sudan can claim any preferential rights nor privileges on the Nile that would exclude Ethiopia. And they know it. They know they cannot invoke the colonial pacts of the 19th century to regulate the current reality. They cannot maintain that they are ‘owners of the water’ simply because their life happens to rely on the river.
Similarly, Ethiopia does not have the pretence of monopolizing the resource. It believes it should be shared equitably and fairly; and it believes it is not only morally right but also reasonable to have such attitude with neighbours. It believes that such attitude can only give rise to a win-win solution. But it takes two to a tango!
These arguments lead us to the basic issue regarding the long term usage of the Nile. It takes us beyond the issue of the GERD. Ethiopia reserves its right to exploit the Nile waters to the maximum possible without jeopardizing the livelihoods of the lower riparian countries. If it abandons such right, it would amount to abandoning its independence!
This means abandoning its status as a sovereign country! And there can be nothing more shameful and disgraceful than accepting any sort of renunciation to one’s sovereignty! Our forefathers sacrificed their lives so that such conditions are not imposed on them!
They died in battles trying to safeguard their country’s sovereignty and this is a point we believe all Egyptians and Sudanese should consider carefully. They should reckon that there is no way Ethiopians will accept to renounce their legitimate rights on the Nile to satisfy the unrestricted and unreasonable ‘claims’ of Egyptian and Sudanese politicians! The peoples of the three countries are good neighbours. It is the unfettered ambitions of politicians who engage in dangerous rhetoric we often hear coming from Cairo and Khartoum that is troubling.
For Ethiopians, the GERD is more than a simple dam. The Nile is more than just a river. Both are symbols of Ethiopian sovereignty. Sharing these resources equitably is the basis of Ethiopia’s foreign policy. Anything less cannot be accepted. Hence, talking about the military might of Egypt or Sudan cannot impress Ethiopians. It does not lead to lasting peace until the issue for a fair share of the Nile waters is admitted and settled once and for all under firm and unequivocal principles.
Egypt, Sudan and all other birds of the same feather need to wake up that colonial times are gone for good, done and dusted. They cannot re-emerge from the ashes under any pretext to regulate our current affairs.
We cannot bring back the clock to satisfy certain ambitions of certain politicians! Hence it would be advisable for all to live up to the times and never continue hoodwinking people who have little acquaintance or grasp of the situation choosing to abandon them in ‘a world of fairy tales’!
The Ethiopian Herald February 14/2021
