BY HIZKEL HAILU
A decade has been counted since the commencement of the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which is fully funded by Ethiopians has been officially launched. Since the time of placement of the foundation stone, Ethiopians at every corner have been working in unison to complete the GERD considering it as a matter of life and death for different rationales.
Ethiopians have a saying goes for “be and dingay hulet wef” literally to mean “killing two birds with one stone”. Therefore, the same would like to be true for Ethiopians in completing the construction of the GERD. Completing the dam will have economic, political, societal and other advantages for Ethiopians in particular and the Horn in general.
Despite the challenges countered with impact of COVID-19, internal conflicts at different areas of the country and external pressures against Ethiopia, the government of Ethiopia jointly with its citizens is working exhaustively on the issue of GERD. The GERD issue also hits the headlines of global and local media, particularly during the past three years.
In his parliamentary briefing on current issues this week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) explained that GERD is being built in a way to benefit riparian countries apart from solving Ethiopia’s electricity crisis.
“Despite barrage of fake news about GERD, the dam is going to reduce Sudan and Egypt’s water security threats as our green campaign will make both countries to secure more water than before,” he asserted.
According to the premier, the dam is crucial to the three countries and the region as a whole not only in terms of generating power but also solving water shortages via planting billions of seedlings every year.
He, therefore, called on the international community to support Ethiopia’s win-win approach to break the deadlock on the GERD talks.
On his article Published by Future Directions International Pty Ltd. in Australia, entitled with “The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Power for Ethiopia, Disaster for Egypt?” Mervyn Piesse said Ethiopia seeks to diversify its economy away from agriculture, which was the mainstay of its economy only a decade ago.
It has pursued a state-led development model that combines public investment in infrastructure and education with foreign aid and investment; he noted adding that the GERD is a major component of Ethiopia’s economic diversification plan.
“Once the construction of the dam is completed (after a series of delays linked to political uncertainty and allegations of corruption in the military-run conglomerate that was the lead domestic contractor), it will be the largest dam in Africa,” he stated.
Noting that the dam is capable of generating up to 6.4 Giga watts of electricity after the completion, he asserted that Ethiopia hopes that the additional electricity capacity will help to spur further economic development and allow it to export more to neighboring countries to increase its foreign exchange earnings.
Important issue should be clear to the people of Sudan and Egypt and the whole world as well is there is a grave shortage of electricity generated so far in Ethiopia in which about 60 percent of its population is coerced to live in darkness. That shortage is partly caused by a reliance on hydroelectricity, a lack of diversification that Addis Ababa would like to address in the future. For now, however, it is more focused on harnessing the untapped power of the Nile, which it has historically been abandoned from doing, he added.
On top of generating hydropower, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is an integral part of the Ethiopian economic and political development strategy. Apart from giving light for the rural people, the dam is hoped will provide much needed electricity for industrial development and give the country greater control over the flow of the Nile.
Sharing the writer’s idea, Mekonen Abera an Economist told The Ethiopian Herald that the surplus electricity produced by the GERD will be a steady source of income for Ethiopia, adding that the GERD after its operation will have greater role in alleviating poverty.
Explaining electricity export is the current strategic objective of Ethiopia, he asserted that the country can generate hard currency very soon in exporting energy to the countries in the region. After GERD’s completion, Ethiopia will become the second-largest producer of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa next to South Africa. Thereupon, it will bring tangible and sustainable economic growth to Ethiopia and the East African countries as well.
GERD-induced economic growth of Ethiopia is anchored mainly on the tremendous improvements in energy supply which in turn increases efficiency, capacity utilization, and productivity for the energy–constrained economy. The GERD is of paramount importance in reducing poverty, particularly in Ethiopia and generally in Sudan and Egypt, he asserted.
According to him, the enormous dam will generate 6000 MW of electricity, which is more than Ethiopia needs. Therefore, the Ethiopian government expects to export power to neighboring nations, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan.
Noting that the dam will also irrigate over 1.2 million acres of arable land, Mekonen explained the fertilization of soil will guarantee a successful harvest for millions of farmers. And this is crucial to ensuring the growth of Ethiopia’s economy, which is still mostly based on agriculture.
Discussing with Ethiopian Ambassador to Uganda Alemtsehay Meseret this week regarding the GERD issue, Eng. Ibrahim Uwizeye, the Minister of Water, Energy and Mineral of the Republic of Burundi said his country is waiting for the completion of the dam to purchase electricity,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
As to Mekonen, the above statement can directly illustrate how Ethiopia is eagerly waiting for the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renascence Dam. Therefore the economic significance of the GERD can be foreseen clearly.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is not only a Dam erected to generate power, but also serve as a flagship project for the nation’s sovereignty. Ethiopians know very well how hard it is to build the Dam but thanks to the unison created among nations and nationalities, the dream becomes reality.
Sociologists also suggested that the completion of the dam will have societal advantage parallel with its economic significance. “Construction of GERD has big image on its latent function rather than manifest function. It is also a project that built strong social harmony and bond. Hence, the society’s spirit to complete the project still remains intact.
“Like the Victory of Adwa, the GERD is also an icon, inspiration and hope for Ethiopia and Africans too. Accordingly, nothing will reduce nation’s motivation and inspiration for building the dam,” sociologists agreed.
Moreover, a document from Ethiopian Economic Association revealed that Ethiopia’s economic growth is expected to increase by about 1.5 percent due to GERD operation. The economic growth in Ethiopia is anchored mainly on tremendous increase in energy supply and capital stock from the GERD which are expected to improve efficiency and productivity in the economy.
“With the undertaking of this massive and controversial project, Ethiopia shows it has no intention of stagnating in its goal to reduce poverty. Once the GERD is completed, Ethiopia’s economy will flourish and the dam will contribute its share for poverty reduction across the nation,” the document asserted.
Meanwhile, understanding its political, economic, societal, national and continental significance, Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) announced that it is guarding the dam round the clock in a bid to carry out the second round filling successfully.
According to Metekel Zone Task Force Chief, Lt Gen. Asrat Deniero, ENDF remains vigilant to foil any possible plots that prevent the 2nd round water impoundment operation. And it was also learnt that Ethiopia has also started the second impoundment of the dam this week.
The Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele (PhD) on his part said the construction of the GERD is progressing as planned based on schedule. While visiting the progress of the dam recently, the Minister said that the project is ramping up as per schedule.
Noting that about 56 percent of Ethiopia’s population still does not have access to modern electricity, the minister explained the completion of the Dam is expected to improve access to electricity for the vast majority of the population as well as stimulate the economy and hence result in improved socioeconomic outcomes.
Representing Ethiopia on the UN Security Council meeting that held to discuss GERD issue recently, the Minister stressed that the dam is constructed to hold water and this is pure physics. Besides, the objective of the construction is not to harm the lower riparian countries, rather to enable Ethiopians change their life settling in their country instead of migrating to other countries and exposed to myriads of difficulties.
All in all, the completion of the GERD is expected to improve access to electricity for the vast majority of the population as well as to stimulate the economy which resulted in improved socioeconomic outcomes in Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa as well. Thus, does it not mean that Ethiopians are killing many birds with a stone? They all agreed.
The Ethiopian Herald July 10/2021
