Ever since the inception of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD), Ethiopia, though being the sole owner and financer of the dam, has been in talks with the downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt, to reach a common consensus on the technicality of the project.
It was in fact out of self-initiation that the country invited the two countries to a round-table negotiation with no strings attached. It was mainly Ethiopia’s unreserved role that led to some of the headway in talks. Ethiopia has had a major role in the formation of the international panel of experts and the realization of signing of the Declaration of Principle also known as the DoP. For multiple times, Ethiopia also invited Sudan and Egypt to visit the construction site to have firsthand information about the dam. This is too much as many may argue but Ethiopia’s actions are stemming from the country’s years of commitment and principle of not harming others and living in harmony.
Ethiopia is arguably the first country that invited its downstream riparian to negotiate on its own hydro-electric generating dam on a river it originates from its lands. The US didn’t do it on its Hoover dam in Colorado in relation to Mexico. Turkey didn’t do it on its Ataturk dam in relation to Syria and Iraq. China didn’t do it either on its Mekong River in relation to its five downstream riparian.
Despite Ethiopia’s bold moves, the actions of Egypt runs in contradiction to the principle of win-win approach. Both Sudan and Egypt have been coming up with insincere and absurd pretexts hampering possible chance of producing an agreed deal. On contrary, Egypt has been unleashing a tsunami of misinformation campaign about the dam and has been baffling the international community by flip-flopping constantly.
For years, Cairo tried to internationalize and politicize GERD; its efforts have been cut short as they lack rationality. In another foiled attempt, Cairo in the latest talks held in Kinshasa, Congo, recently came up with a plan to elevate the status of observers and give them as equal role as the African Union. This was typical of colonial mentality and continuation of years of Egypt’s disregard to Africans and African institutions. The constant flip-flop of Egypt has brought nothing but shame to itself. Surly, nothing could replace the sovereignty of African continent. If talks are to go the right direction, AU should continue playing central role in brokering the tripartite negotiation.
But again, despite the kneejerk acts of Egypt, Ethiopia remains unflinching towards peaceful resolution of the matter and seeks to reach in a win-win deal to this very day. That is why, the country lately invited Sudan and Egypt to nominate dam operators to exchange data before GERD’s second filling. However, both countries have rejected Ethiopia’s offer. This showcases the two countries’ uneasiness towards knowing the truth. No upstream country has been generous enough other than Ethiopia in consulting downstream countries about their sovereign projects. It is indeed one of the kinds in the history of trans-boundary river negotiation.
Ethiopia’s actions are bold and worth-sharing examples to the rest of the world. As far as GERD is concerned, one thing is for sure—i.e., the planned second filling just like the first phase would be carried out with or without a deal or the countries’ presence. Because, the dam is all about connecting millions of Ethiopians living in darkness to the grid, neither false accusation nor smear campaign can stop the unstoppable project.
The Ethiopian Herald April 16/2021
