Kenya signs Nile Basin pact

• Kenya says treaty will enhance equitable utilisation of resources and boost development for its population.

In the proposal, the downstream states wanted all the Nile Basin countries to issue a presidential declaration to launch the Commission as negotiations to reach a comprehensive agreement continue.

With Kenya’s signature in the bag, the upstream states now wait for one more country – DR Congo and Burundi in that order - before the treaty is ratified and deposited with the African Union and the UN.

Thereafter, the riparian states will go ahead with the establishment of the long-awaited Commission to manage the resources of Africa’s longest river.

The Commission will replace the legally fragile Nile Basin Initiative which has been in existence since 1995 but whose relevance and bargaining power with donors has been quickly waning.

Despite Egypt and Sudan contributing little to the flow of River Nile, a colonial agreement signed with the British in 1929, made the two the biggest beneficiaries in terms of exploiting the river's resources for development.

The treaty also gave Egypt rights to veto upstream projects.

Kenya contributes up to 40 per cent of water to Lake Victoria through direct rainfall which later exits as the White Nile.

Another 40 per cent enters the lake from Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi through River Kagera while the rest comes from Uganda as a result of direct rainfall.

But in terms of usage, Egypt and Sudan consume 56 billion cubic metres and 18.4 billion cubic metres respectively out of the 90 billion cubic metres that flow through the Nile annually.

Mrs Ngilu noted that the signing of the treaty will enhance equitable utilisation of resources and boost development for their populations.

Besides, she added, donors who have found it difficult to sign agreements with NBI which operates with weak legal backing will find it much easier to work with the Commission.

“Some financiers have been turning us away because of lack of a legal framework which the Commission now has,” she said.