BY ABENEZER DAWIT LENCHA
Egypt has had control politically of the Nile water for millennia, a status confirmed by colonial-era agreements of 1902 and 1929 made by the British and a 1959 bilateral treaty between Egypt and Sudan. The latter allocated Egypt 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters, which is a crime against justice and fairness.
Ethiopia has long viewed the status quo as unfair as it seeks to develop its impoverished economy. The pharaoh’s attitude, which is inferior to that of the Stone Age, is of no use. Ethiopia has not only the right to use its natural resources in a way that does not harm others but also has a moral obligation to do so.
Besides their unfair stances, Egyptian leaders framed the GERD dispute in stark, hyper-nationalist terms and send belligerent threats, and Politicians in Cairo called for sabotaging the dam.
On the other hand, for thousands of years, Ethiopians have not used their natural resource of the Nile unlike their neighbors in the north. Since 2011, when Ethiopia began to build GERD across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile; Egypt openly began to show its unreasonable concerns.
However, dams have been a part of the economic development model of almost all nations. At some stage of their development, most countries with water resources have built dams for energy, irrigation, and drinking water. Hydropower provides a non-polluting source of energy that may be generated in increasing amounts for the growing needs of growing populations. Ethiopia only needs to use its natural resources for the benefit of the people based on merits and cooperation among riparian states.
Moreover, Ethiopia’s determination to complete the project is certain, which the government and people of Ethiopia are funding entirely. It is better to look back at the old footage from a few decades ago in the ‘60s when Egypt was building the Aswan High Dam, and you see the kind of hyper-nationalism, the same even more ultra-hyper sense of belongingness is happening in Ethiopia like never before.
GERD is not there to control the flow of the water and harm our brothers, but to provide electricity for about 80 million Ethiopians or more than three-quarters of the population and develop ourselves through and help Ethiopians get rid of poverty.
Ethiopia sees the dam as the key to its economic future, but its neighbor to the north, Egypt, fears the dam could spell doom for its water supply. Ethiopia believes in the Obligation not to cause significant harm and in the Principles of international water law and Peaceful settlement of disputes as well as Principle of equitable and reasonable utilization.
It’s known that there would be more bumpy roads to get there but Ethiopia keeps looking forward to work together. After the Kinshasa talks failed, Ethiopia calls for cooperation and information exchange based on the Helsinki rules on the uses of the waters of international rivers (1966).
To sum up, Prior Nile water agreements have portrayed Egypt as having primary use and control over the river. Both the 1929 and 1959 Nile water agreements also stipulated that downstream states are not permitted to construct dams without the permission of Egypt first. However, Unlike Egypt, Ethiopia is not interested to take one drop of Egypt’s water that is found in the Mediterranean but, we would like to share the Nile with others based on merits. Moreover, the construction of the GERD without Egyptian permission and Ethiopians refusal to bow to Cairo’s unjust pressure demonstrates the pharos attitude is no more in use.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
The Ethiopian Herald April 17/2021
