BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
The famous expression which says ‘the night about to dawn is the darkest’, Ethiopia has experienced such pressure from several corners of national and international interest groups. The nation is striving to achieve its longest development goals which will shake of the shackles of poverty by all citizens› cooperation.
The government plans, policies, and strategies will serve as tools for escaping poverty and attaining economic growth.
Accomplishing the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) can bring a multi-faceted benefit to the nation which includes, meeting the energy demand, protecting the environment from pollution due to forest clearance, and exporting energy which enables to boost the nation hard currency earning capacity.
The construction started ten years ago through mobilizing finance, labor, and time from all corners of the society here in Ethiopia and abroad.
The former government had gone too far to get financial support from different international organizations; unfortunately, their response was on deaf ears. Therefore, the government and the citizens of Ethiopia have started constructing the dam with their own resources.
In his article, Nonresident Senior Fellow – Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative, John Mukum Mbaku said that Egypt has used its extensive diplomatic connections and the colonial-era 1929 and 1959 agreements to successfully prevent the construction of any major infrastructure projects on the tributaries of the Nile.
As a consequence, Ethiopia has not been able to make significant use of the river’s waters. However, as a result of the ability and willingness of Ethiopians at home and abroad to invest in the dam project, the government was able to raise a significant portion of the money needed to start the construction of the GERD.
Currently, more than 80% of the dam’s construction has been completed. The remaining phase of the construction will not halt the dam from generating the long-expected electric power to Ethiopia and the neighboring countries.
For many reasons, the dam is the most important project for Ethiopia even if it has brought misunderstanding and confusion among neighboring states especially the three: Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. With 85% of contribution to the Nile River and with 0% benefit, Ethiopia stands firm on the negotiations on the fair and equal share of the water.
“According to a recent World Bank and African Development Forum joint Study, other riparian countries have less than 25 percent access to electricity. Only 25 to 50 percent of Kenyan and Sudanese households have access to electricity. 60 million Ethiopians have no access to electricity. Ethiopia and other Nile basin countries are heavily dependent on biomass energy for household purposes as the result, they suffer from global warming because of land degradation and deforestation therefore, and generating hydro power helps the countries to tackle their energy starvation. The utilization of renewable energy is economically feasible and clean in the health aspect,” said the recently published local media. In this case, when Ethiopia starts generating electric power from GERD, it will quench the thirst for electricity not only in Ethiopia but also in the rest of the neighboring states.
Many Ethiopian scholars and patriots around the world have raised their voices to support the project on different occasions. Several research papers and articles have been published about the economic, political, and social aspects of the dam. Still, there are concerns from the patriot Ethiopians around the world about the upcoming negotiations and agreements among the concerned states. Ethiopia firmly stands with the idea of the UN-led negotiation facilitated by AU in the emblem of “African solution for African problem’.
In a short stay with a local media, hydrologist and hydro resource engineer, Tirusew Assefa (Ph.D.) said that under any circumstances, Ethiopia stood and will stand with the truth as always. When the negotiation starts, Ethiopia should uncover the reality that it loses little water due to water evaporation compared to the downstream countries because the dam is located in a higher place above sea level as compared to the lower riparian countries. It is true that countries lose water especially at dams, but there are other natural reasons that could cause water wastage. For instance, Ethiopia may lose water at the dam, but when the river flows down to its destination, in the arid zones of Sudan and Egypt the rate of water evaporation becomes higher and higher.
In this regard, the Egyptians Aswan Dam is known for wasting huge amounts of water due to evaporation because of higher temperatures prevailing in the surrounding areas. In addition to this, it is submerged into underground water, as a result excessive water is wasted.
Furthermore, currently, climate change and global warming have a huge impact on water resources. Due to this challenge, Tirusew said, Ethiopia has to have a better stance in explaining the reality on the ground to the world as the country is struggling to survive climate impacts.
The hydrologist also tweeted “#Egypt and #Sudan should be happy that Ethiopia built #GERD at 74 BCM. That’s because Climate Change would require in the next 40 yrs., Eastern Nile Basin needs to have additional 125 BCM (1.5 x MORE #GERDs) to be built in #Ethiopia to mitigate the impact.”
Data shows that regarding the access to basic drinking water, Ethiopia covers only 41% of its people which means more than half of the people have no access to basic piped water. Contrary to these, Egypt scored 100% in this regard.
To support the above idea, The Hydrologist also highlighted that according to the UN, if a person couldn’t get 25 liters of water per day, he/she is labeled as having no access to basic drinking water.
It is true that the country’s economy is relying on agriculture and farmers use the old- fashioned ways to cultivating their lands. Asked whether the dam brings positive outcomes in changing the way of farming in Ethiopia, the Engineer pinpointed that when the GERD starts generating electric power and reaches the poor farmers of Ethiopia, it will be a game-changer. When the farmers start using electricity, the whole system will move to the next level. Even farmers can start small businesses by utilizing agricultural products as input with a very small amount of capital. In addition, when the electric city is availed in the rural part, education will be expanded so that children get better education which enables to transform agriculture so that the sector plays a pivotal role in export earnings. Therefore, Ethiopia needs to work aggressively on GERD as the project has reached its final phases.
From the point of view stated on ‘FEED THE FUTURE, Yalemzewd Nigussie noted GERD enables many (60-70 percent) of Ethiopians access to clean energy and contributes to the reduction in carbon emission from deforestation for firewood purposes. As climate change is a global burning issue, Ethiopia’s effort should have been praised and supported by the international community. Reducing pressure on forest resources and the expansion of afforestation and watershed management practices serve to sequestrate the emitted carbon. Ethiopia’s effort to build GERD is not only a mere energy generation but serves for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. From this perspective; therefore, GERD deserves global subsidy and support, not international sabotage.
Plenty of researches have been written about climate change which scares every human kind. In relation to this, GERD and the green economy that the government wants to implement will be the escape route for such challenges.
When the dam starts generating power with full capacity, there will be the number of economic benefits that the dam brings to the nation. Name it, agriculture or tourism; the country will be benefited the best. In a few weeks’ time, the dam starts generating power. This doesn’t mean that the project is over. We, the government and the people of Ethiopia, need to work hard to finish the project.
The next most crucial stage in the process of constructing GERD is the negotiation among the Nile Basin countries. The government and the negotiators who stand by the Ethiopian side must exert their energy to attain victory.
The Ethiopian Herald October 29/2021
