Have you taken leave of your senses? The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has given top priority to its policy of good relations with its neighbors and other countries of Africa in particular and the rest of the world in general. The Government believes that its number one enemy is poverty and has mobilized the whole population of Ethiopia in the fight against poverty under its 5-year Growth and Transformation Plan. It is to be known that now Ethiopia is one of the ten fastest economies in the world. Ethiopia strongly believes that regional and continental cooperation is vital if all countries of Africa are to grow and prosper together. Ethiopia also strongly believes that dialogue and peaceful negotiations are prerequisites to solving any conflicts and misunderstandings that may arise among nations of the world. Moreover, Ethiopia is champion of African independence, unity and prosperity and it is a staunch advocate of Africa’s stand in international arena. Even though the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is beneficial to Ethiopia and the lower riparian countries—Egypt and Sudan—, a few diehard Egyptians are daydreaming to stop the construction of the dam. Their utterances sound completely nonsensical and their intention is sheer lunacy. From the outset, Ethiopia has engaged both Sudan and Egypt in all activities associated with the construction of the Dam. Sudan’s Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, has downplayed fears of a possible collapse of the dam which could lead to flooding Sudan. Oman said that these days the construction technology has improved and the Italian company which is building the dam would not risk its reputation. Osman mentioned that several dams such as the Al-Rusairs Dam in East Sudan and the Aswan Dam in Egypt, which accommodate 162 billion cubic meters of water, have survived for decades without crumbling. However, Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir announced his support to the project in March 2012, saying his government understands the mutual benefits the project could offer to both Ethiopia and Sudan. Sudan is keen on strengthening its relations with Egypt and Ethiopia. Now Sudan has shown its willingness to cooperate with Ethiopia and has decided to send its experts and technicians to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Egypt and Sudan had previously argued that the construction of the dam would negatively affect their water shares and insisted the project should be blocked, calling on international donors against funding it. The successful completion of the Renaissance Dam is a win-win situation for the three countries. And that is why the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, masterminded the Renaissance Dam in anticipation of the unswerving support of the whole Ethiopian people. Truly speaking, the whole mass of the Ethiopian people have demonstrated their support by donating generously towards the construction of the Dam. The Government and the people of Ethiopia are determined to construct the dam from their own coffers. For years, Egypt has been pressing international finance organizations and rich governments not to finance any water projects in Ethiopia. That era is gone now. Now things have changed. We, Ethiopians, are strongly determined to build our dam with our own resources. Egypt’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohammed Idris, described Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam as a ‘reality’ that Egypt must cope with. Let President Morsi and Egyptian hardliners face reality. The news coming out of Egypt these days is very disappointing. Historically, Egypt has been actively working with Ethiopia’s enemies to destabilize the country. Sudan’s stance on the Great Renaissance Dam has driven the diehards in Egypt insane. Egypt must know that any real misunderstanding with Ethiopia must be resolved in a civilized manner: on a give-and-take relationship. The win-win scenario is the best of all possible scenarios one can imagine. Egypt must try to settle any misunderstanding or problem in the spirit of Pan Africanism and not by the empty rhetoric of European colonialism. Trying to resolve the misunderstanding by force or by other unacceptable means will ultimately do more harm than good to Egypt. Though Ethiopia contributes 85% of the Nile waters, it is advocating for an equitable use of the Nile water and a win-win situation for all the three countries. The construction of the dam will greatly diminish the accumulation of silty soils in the bottom of the river and the dams in Sudan and Egypt. Also, the amount of water lost to the air by evaporation will be significantly reduced. Sudan particularly will benefit from the hydroelectric power that will be generated at the dam, as Ethiopia is bent on exporting energy to that country. Egypt also can be a beneficiary of such an opportunity. In April 2010, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania signed a new agreement on the River Nile in Entebbe, Uganda, which redistributed shares of the Nile water. Egypt and Sudan refused to sign the accord, declaring that it was non-binding. The deal was approved after Burundi signed the agreement in March 2011. It must be clear the Nile is not only for Egypt, Sudan or Ethiopia. We should not forget that there are ten Nile riparian countries. They have their share of the Nile. But Egypt’s stand on the Nile is unacceptable by any standard. Egypt must realize colonial masters are no more around. The Nile issue is an African issue which must be dealt with by Africans in the spirit of Pan Africanism. Egyptians must forget their colonial masters. Now is the era of African Unity. Africans must grow and prosper together!! As expected, the ten-member International Panel of experts (2 from Egypt, 2 from Sudan and 2 from Ethiopia and 4 international experts), which was given the task of studying the impact of the Renaissance Dam on Sudan and Egypt, has come out with its final report, stating that the Dam has no any harmful effect on Egypt and Sudan. It is hoped that higher Egyptian officials will soon come to Addis Ababa to discus the misunderstanding with their Ethiopian counterparts. Here it must be clear that the Construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is non-negotiable as it is the stance of the Government and people of Ethiopia. Without any doubt, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan will count their blessings on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the not-distant future.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:51:04 +0000
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