Genre: Editorial 

Published on the Ethiopian Herald on 29 March 2014

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink

 

BY WORKU BELACHEW
 

Ethiopia is pressing ahead with the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) meeting all international standards though Egyptian authorities opt destructive path. Upper riparian nations and downstream Sudan have recognized Ethiopia's natural rights to use the waters, and the latter has found the project beneficial for it reduces flooding, not to mention its impact to regulate the flow, and increases water volume in the river system.

Particularly during the previous three years, Ethiopia unveiled the relevance of the project to integrate the region apart from conquering age-old poverty that reigned in the nation.

Authorities in Egypt who still fall being prisoners of their rhetoric turn deaf ears to the genuine call of the upper riparian Nations and Sudan for cooperation.

The international community, in various occasions, tried and is still trying to calm down these authorities irrational temper. However, let alone external bodies, the authorities even could not listen to Egypt's own scholars and other analysts based in Egypt. For instance, few days ago, water expert from the AUC university in Cairo confirmed that Ethiopia’s hydroelectric dam will not hurt Egypt. Egypt-based water resource management specialist Richard Tutwiler said the Ethiopian dam will never stop the flow of water downstream to Egypt. But, boldly speaking, these few politicians and scholars speak and listen to their circles only.

No one, and nothing except scientific reasoning proves best to understand the downstream impact of GERD. Yes, it has huge impacts on them. These impacts, as verified scientifically, are positive. Reducing flooding that harms Sudan during Ethiopian major rainy seasons, reducing silt for downstream hydro dams, saving water loss in the Nile system, minimizing evaporation which amounts close to 14BCM in Aswan High Dam only.

So, why do these few Egyptian authorities are failing to see the benefits? The answer would not be as difficult as a space science, would it be? In the first place, they are still victim of colonialism sentiment. This sentiment clicks on their mind that upstream nations are obliged to abide in colonial “treaties”, if at all called treaties. Then, they miscalculate as upstream Nations must seek their blessing ahead of commencing any project on Nile. The fact they are ignoring is , however, as upstream States outdated the so called treaty, immediately after getting their independence. From its inception, Ethiopia— that remains independent through its history— objected the unfair calculation.

The other factor is, Egyptian political circles old fashioned attitude, i.e., controlling the Nile basin Nations by tailoring Nile as an issue of security has made them to stick on same wrong path than the huge benefit GERD would bring to the people of Egypt. Their own experts in the IpoE asserted as there is no significant harm resulting from the dam's construction. Through the effort of downstream Sudan and Ethiopia's commendable stand to clear every doubt about the dam, the three countries, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt made discussions to advance recommendations of IPoE. However, the Egyptian delegation was trying to put the process back to square one.

For Ethiopia, growth is a matter of survival, not a question of domination. For a landlocked and non oil economy, there is no option than investing hugely on its giant river to quench the demand for power. Indeed, we are investing accordingly with our local finance but the benefit is to downstream Nations as well. If there exists a politician in the World that complained a free lunch, it would obviously be the Egyptian political circle. The international community has told them the advantage they get, other upper riparian countries boldly send their messages on the dam's significance, Sudan has shown its positive stand, their own scholars have echoed as the dam has no harm but benefits. However, the political circle is using the matter only for cheap political consumption.

Few years ago GERD was a design on a paper, but today over thirty percent of its physique is on the ground, can be seen and touched. It consumed labour and finance in billions. Above all, Ethiopians, home and abroad, regardless of; age, sex, political and religious orientations, eagerly await to see its completion. And the current progress of the construction is beyond every body's exceptions. And this is a right time for Egyptian people to ignore the politicians empty rhetoric and to continue their genuine supports to the dam, as has been done so far by some of their scholars and analysts.