Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit

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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 10, 2011(ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopia will never stop its program to construct the recently launched massive hydro power project in Nile River whether Egyptians welcome it or not, government officials said on Tuesday ahead of the Egyptian prime minister’s visit to Addis Ababa this week.
“There won’t be any reason that would stop or delay the undergoing construction of the Nile Dam. It is not something based on the goodwill of Egyptians” Shimels Kemal, a spokesman for the Communications Ministry of Ethiopia, told Sudan Tribune.
Egypt, which failed to thwart a recent pact on Nile water use signed by six riparian countries, had recently sent a 48-member popular delegation to discuss the issue with Ethiopia despite the latter’s insistence the plan was not intended to harm Egypt.
As goodwill gesture Addis Ababa agreed to postpone ratification of the new treaty.
“Ethiopia only agreed to delay ratifying the new Nile pact until Egypt elects new government, if the upcoming rule in Egypt accepts the project we will push building the dam in joint cooperation” Ethiopian state minister for foreign affairs Birhane Gebrekirstos said.
“However if the new government in Egypt rejects to accept and bends to its old stance the program never stops and we will still carry on the project to end”.
The state Minister said Egypt’s Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, accompanied by senior officials, will arrive in Addis Ababa on Thursday for a two day visit.
According to the official, the Nile will be the main topic of discussion as well as some other bilateral issues.
“The Egyptian delegation will be briefed on the Nile project to illustrate them it doesn’t hurt them and we hope a common understanding will be reached between the two sides”, Gebrekirstos said.
Ethiopia has allowed a team of Sudanese and Egyptian experts along with other Ethiopian and international scientists, to observe the new dam in a bid to convince them the project is not intended to hurt them.

AFP: Egypt PM to discuss Nile water in Africa visits

CAIRO — Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf departed on Wednesday for visits to Uganda and Ethiopia that will be dominated by the talks on sharing the Nile River, which has been at the centre of a dispute between Nile Basin countries.

Sharaf will first visit Kampala and then Addis Ababa on Thursday night, the official MENA news agency reported.

He heads a large delegation including the foreign and electricity ministers.

Basin countries have demanded the revision of colonial-era agreements that give Egypt and Sudan most of the river's water and allow Cairo to veto upstream projects on the river.

Egypt does not recognise an agreement between other basin countries that revised the treaties, but the government that replaced ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February has shown interest in resolving the dispute.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Lake Victoria and Nile waters treaties ripe for major review-Business Daily: -

The other day as I flew over Lake Victoria to Kigali, I was prompted to think about the debate on River Nile waters and treaties.

I also reflected on the meandering River Kagera, a river that carries a lot of water from Rwanda and Burundi into Lake Victoria.

This also set me guessing which of the riparian countries puts most water into Lake Victoria/ River Nile water systems

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• Editorial: Resolve Nile water row

Kagera is probably the largest single river contributing most to the Lake Victoria waters, but Kenya as a country may in total be contributing the most quantity of water into the lake out of its many fairly large rivers, that is Nzoia, Yala, Nyando, Sondu-Miriu, Migori and the Mara river, which enters the lake in Tanzania.

All these Kenyan rivers emanate from the Mau except Nzoia which flows from Cherangany.

Uganda mainly off-takes water from the lake via Victoria Nile, but also puts a lot of water into the Nile system from a network of rivers and lakes.

Tanzania, to my best recollection of geography, has only small streams mostly seasonal going to the lake, if one considers that Mara essentially flows from Kenya.

Before the River Nile finally reaches Egypt, we have huge water inputs from the Southern Sudan equatorial landscape and of course the mighty Blue Nile of Ethiopia.

What strikes many of us as grossly illogical and unfair is the requirement that gives Egypt veto powers when a member of the Nile watershed countries (including Kenya) intends to install a large-scale project that would impact water flows to Egypt.

This is according to an agreement signed in 1929, and which binds Kenya among other riparian countries.

Ongoing regional and basin initiatives among the riparian countries are in the process of negotiating more equitable agreements, though unanimity is far from reached.

Waters of the Victoria/Nile watershed systems have been used differently by various riparian countries.

Whereas there is economic sense in damming rivers for both electricity and irrigation, it is the latter that essentially removes water from the flow.

Uganda has mainly focused on hydropower generation with the Bujagali project expected to yield 250MW while the proposed project at Karuma falls will yield up to 600MW.

Kenya has recently commissioned Sondu Miriu hydro project with a 60MW power output.

Tanzania recently installed a water pipeline from Lake Victoria pumping water to the twin towns of Kahama and Shinyaga mainly for domestic and industrial use for up to half a million people.

Ethiopia is mainly focusing on mega hydro power generation, while Egypt and Sudan have, for many years, engaged in massive irrigation.

Southern Sudan is expected to come up with its own projects on Nile Waters use.

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• Editorial: Resolve Nile water row

Historically, Kenya has not gone all out to harness the economic potential offered by either the rivers flowing into Lake Victoria or the lake itself.

The Sondu Miriu hydropower project and the recently rehabilitated rice irrigation projects are perhaps the only visible efforts on the Nile Basin water resources, with the fishing sub-sector having declined.

Kenya is putting a lot of resources into environmental rehabilitation of its Mau (and Cherangany) water tower to sustain the flow of the rivers that eventually contribute to the waters of Nile.

Kenya, therefore, has a justifiable right to fetch sufficient economic returns out of the five main rivers from the towers, especially before the water flows into the lake.

There is likely to be less riparian debate if we capture and use the water while it is still flowing within our country than when it is already in the Lake and ready to flow to Egypt.

Kano green fields

It is the irrigated agriculture especially in the low lying lands of Nyanza counties that will make a huge national (and local) economic difference.

It would be fascinating and pleasant to witness in the future most of the Kano Plains covered with large green fields of irrigated rice, cotton, sugar, and horticultural produce.

We would also like to witness aircraft flying from the newly upgraded Kisumu international airport direct to Europe carrying horticultural exports from the irrigated fields.

It would also be quite welcome to witness agricultural surpluses from the irrigated lands of Nyanza counties feeding the rest of the country.

Of course all riparian countries including Egypt must have an equitable share of access to Nile basin waters.

However, it also needs to be appreciated that all states have a right to economic and social development opportunities.

y George Wachira (email the author)

Posted Wednesday, May 11 2011 at 00:00

Most of the upstream countries (including Kenya ) who are playing an economic development catch-up game will need to use more Nile systems water than they have hitherto required.

It will not be easy for Egypt to countenance a shift from the status quo, and that is why we will not be surprised to see the country come up will all manner of diplomatic and economic cooperation gestures to influence the less developed upstream riparian partners.

It will not be easy for all, because going forward there will be fewer waters available as the global warming impacts hit the watersheds resulting in reduced water flows into the Nile Basin.

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• Editorial: Resolve Nile water row

This is a new reality that must also be fully taken into account in all future treaty negotiations.

Without sounding unfair to Egypt, the economic inequities between Egypt and other riparian states is often played out in the Comesa trade bloc, where the trade imbalances on agricultural produce are very clearly visible.

EAC will be best placed to co-ordinate and advance those cross-border projects that will maximise mutual economic benefits from the basin waters for members.

This can be in the form of environmental protection of the basin, lake transportation, fisheries development, regional hydropower inter-connectivity.

Wachira is director, Petroleum Focus Consultants. wachira@petroleumfocus.com

YouTube - Egyptian Delegation in Ethiopia, Part 2 of 2

YouTube - Egyptian Delegation in Ethiopia, Part 2 of 2: ""

YouTube - Egyptian Delegation in Ethiopia, Part 1 of 2

YouTube - Egyptian Delegation in Ethiopia, Part 1 of 2: ""

Ethiopia Freezes Nile Water Treaty in Sign of Thaw With Egypt | Africa | English

Ethiopia has agreed to postpone ratification of a treaty on sharing Nile River water until a new Egyptian government takes office to join the negotiations. The delay eases a long-running dispute between upstream countries at the source of the Nile and downstream countries that claim historic rights to the water.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has told a visiting Egyptian delegation he will freeze consideration of a treaty that would reverse colonial-era agreements giving Egypt and Sudan rights to 90 percent of the Nile’s water. Six upper riparian states have signed the deal, clearing the way for ratification. But downstream countries Egypt and Sudan have refused.

Ethiopia’s ambassador to Egypt Mohamoud Dirir Gheddi said the delay is a goodwill gesture to allow Egypt time to elect a new government following the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

"Ethiopia, having seen the current situation in Egypt, where they need to establish their own government and go through a democratic process of election of their president, sees that it is sane and wise to wait for Egypt and give her time. So it is by way of freezing the ratification at parliament that process will be delayed until such time as Egypt comes up with its own popularly elected government," Dirir said.

Members of the Egyptian delegation say they received a similar assurance from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni during a visit to Kampala last month. Delegation leader Mustafa el Gindy said the 47-member group asked for a delay of up to a year.

"Six months or a year because we need to stabilize, we need to finalize our revolution. We got Mubarak, we got his ministry, but 30 years of Mubarak in Egypt, there is a lot of ‘Mubarak underground’ who want to kill this revolution. Then we need the time, the year is a maximum to get back strong enough, to sit all together," el Gindy said.

The water-sharing dispute gained new urgency last month when Ethiopia announced it is building a huge 5,000-megawatt power project on the Nile, close to the Sudanese border. El Gindy said the announcement frightened many Egyptians, who were told for decades by the Mubarak government that Ethiopia was trying to steal their water.

"I told the prime minister, 30 years of Mubarak made the Egyptians [think] they don’t trust you. They think you are the man who wants to kill them and cut the water on them," el Gindy said.

Ethiopia’s ambassador Dirir Gheddi says the Mubarak government contributed to the unfriendly atmosphere by blocking international funding for an Ethiopian power project on the Nile.

"There was a baggage of suspicion created by the former regime vis-a-vis Ethiopia that Ethiopia is a conspiring country against Egypt, and of course Egypt has conspired against Ethiopia in the past, persuading international donors like the IMF and World Bank not to fund projects in Ethiopia related to the Nile River," Dirir said.

Egyptian delegation leader el Gindy says that when all Nile riparian countries reach a deal on water-sharing, institutions like the World Bank and IMF will be knocking on their door to fund power generation projects.

News agencies say Egypt’s Prime Minister Essam Sharaf will visit Ethiopia later this month to follow up on the work of the public diplomacy delegation.

Egyptian Chronicles: Ethiopia gives us time

Ethiopia gives us time

The Egyptian public diplomatic delegation made a fantastic achievement Yesterday in Ethiopia as the Nile upstream leading country has decided to halt the construction of renaissance dam and the Nile river treaty till our parliamentary and presidential elections. This is a huge achievement considering the damage made by the Mubarak regime all those years and the the short time given to the public diplomatic delegation.
The Ethiopians also agreed that we form a delegation of experts from Egypt , Ethiopia , Sudan , Africa and also other countries to check the renaissance dam in order to make sure that it will not affect Egypt and Sudan.

The delegation visit the Ethiopian church

The public diplomatic delegation made from public Egyptian personalities like included :

• Presidential candidates like Bouthina Kamel , Hamdeen Sabhi and Hisham El Bastawisis
• Public personalities like Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser.
• Partisan personalities like Siyad Badawy , Mustafa El-Gundy of El Wafd , Osama Ghazli Harb of democratic front and Hussein Ibrahim of Muslim brotherhood
• Political activists like Karima Hifny and Dr. Mohamed Abu El- Gar
• Representatives from the January 25th revolutionary youth.

How can a delegation like that succeed in what the Mubarak regime failed to do ? Well may be the Mubarak regime did not want to solve the conflict over the Nile river !! That regime needed to create some sort of an enemy to justify its policies and why we are in need for Mubarak.
The Ethiopians told the delegation that the former regime was overshadowing the the Egyptian Ethiopian relations creating these tensions .
PM Sharaf is going to visit Ethiopia next May 13th insh Allah.
This is a fantastic start despite all the fears and speculations on what will happen after the presidential and parliamentary elections. It is great start and seriously thank all the members of the delegation and also the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs and SCAF for thinking out side the box.

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