South Sudan’s desire to ratify CFA expedites journey to end injustice

ADDIS ABABA – South Sudan’s decision to ratify the Agreement on the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework (CFA) at its parliament has a significant impact on reducing the influence of colonial contract which favors Egypt and Sudan, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia (MoFA).

MoFA Spokesperson Ambassador Dina Mufti told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that six countries signed the CFA while four of them – Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda – approved it in their respective parliaments. “Besides eliminating incongruous colonial water-sharing agreement once and for all, the ratification of the Nile Basin Cooperation Framework by South Sudan will increase the number of countries that have approved the Framework at their parliaments to five,” he said.

Accordingly, as the majority of the riparian member states approve the Framework, it  will be possible to replace the inappropriate influence of Egypt and Sudan by reasonable water-water agreement based on fairness, he indicated. Ambassador Dina further noted that the Nile Basin countries are neighbors and have historical long-standing ties. Hence, the Framework is progressively getting acceptance among the riparian countries that support the equitable use of the Nile River.

“The lower riparian countries did not support the Cooperation Framework because they did not want to abandon the British colonial agreement that divided the water resources between Egypt and Sudan,” he said adding that Ethiopia and other riparian countries are working to reach an agreement on the implementation of the Nile Basin Cooperation Framework as they have the right to use the Nile River. Egypt and Sudan were initially in the process of negotiating the Framework, but later withdrew from the process and did not sign it, as to him.

 BY ABDUREZAK MOHAMMED

The Ethiopian Herald May 25/2021

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