(Africanews): Previous Ethiopian PM, Hailemariam Desalegn has blamed the archaic colonial agreements over the utilization of the Nile waters for the overarching stalemate his nation has with Egypt.
Egypt and Ethiopia are at loggerheads over the development of the Grand Renaissance Dam, a $4 billion-hydroelectric task that Cairo fears will diminish waters that rushed to its fields and reservoirs from Ethiopia’s hignlands and by means of Sudan.
In a meeting with Sudanese-British billionaire businessperson, Mohammed Ibrahim, Desalegn mourned that while Ethiopia contributes a large portion of the Nile waters, arrangements created by colonial powers confine its utilization of a similar water.
“There can’t be any resolution on the dam issue in five words. Numerous individuals don’t comprehend that Ethiopia contributes 86% of the Nile waters and was informed that they were not permitted to utilize a single drop. This was an arrangement created by the pioneer government” said Desalegn.
He included that amid his time as PM, he exhorted the previous Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, not to politicize the issue.
“I advised Morsi not to politicize this issue this is a technical issue. Ethiopia can’t be limited by a colonial treaty since Ethiopia was never colonized”
The last round of talks between the three nations held toward the start of this current month neglected to determine contrasts over the dam.
Addis Ababa denies the dam will undermine Egypt’s access to water. Ties amongst Egypt and Sudan were stressed when Khartoum sponsored the dam due to its requirement for power.
With Ethiopia flagging it might begin filling its transcending $4 billion Grand Renaissance Dam this year, defending rare Nile water assets has surged to the highest point of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s strategy motivation as he starts a moment term.
Following are some of the frameworks governing the use of Nile river waters:
The 1929 Nile Waters Agreement
This agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which represented at the time Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Sudan. The document gave Cairo the right to veto projects higher up the Nile that would affect its water share.
The 1959 Agreement between Egypt and Sudan
This accord between Egypt and Sudan, supplementing the previous agreement, gave Egypt the right to 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water a year and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters per year.
Both the 1929 and 1959 agreements have created resentment among other Nile states and calls for changes to the pact, resisted by Egypt.
The Nile Basin Initiative
Formed in 1999, the initiative brought together the then nine Nile Basin countries to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security.
The nine Nile Basin Initiative countries were Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Since then South Sudan has been added to the initiative.
Entebbe Agreement
Egypt froze its membership in the Nile Basin Initiative in 2010 after some upstream countries signed the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). Egypt has argued that the deal reallocated water shares without its approval.
The CFA, also known as the Entebbe Agreement, has been signed by six out of the 10 Nile Basin Initiative states. The signatories are Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi.
Egypt wants an alternative to the agreement, which now allows other Nile basin countries to conduct projects along the river without its prior consent.
The 2015 Declaration of Principles
Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a cooperation deal in 2015 over the Grand Renaissance Dam in a bid to ease tensions. The deal was meant to pave the way for further diplomatic cooperation. The main principles in the agreement include giving priority to downstream countries for electricity generated by the dam, a mechanism for resolving conflicts, and providing compensation for damages.
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