Nile basin states in row over water deal

ADDIS ABABA, Wednesday

Nile basin countries exchanged stern words after Egypt and Sudan refused to sign a new water sharing pact agreed by seven countries.

Ethiopia, the main contributor of Nile waters (85 per cent) has accused Egypt of delaying the new pact which offers fair and equitable opportunity to share the Nile waters.

“We understand that Egypt has employed a delaying tactics,” Mr Shimelis Kemal, Ethiopian government deputy spokesperson told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Nile riparian countries are scheduled to sign a new agreement on May 14, in Uganda.

But Egypt warned it would withdraw from the Nile Basin Initiative, if the seven downstream states signed the accord.

The initiative is a World Bank-funded programme seeking to resolve disputes over the Nile River waters.

Countries along the Nile have been debating equitable water use for the last decade.

The countries are Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda Tanzania, Burundi Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The new agreement will allow countries to build hydro dams, irrigation agriculture and other development projects along Nile river.

Egypt and Sudan have boycotted the new pact after their proposal to gain a veto power was rejected by other Nile basin countries.

According to Mr Kemal, the previous colonial agreement signed by Britain Sudan and Egypt (1959) which gives a lion’s share to Egypt has been rejected by seven countries.

Egypt claims 55.5 billion cubic metres of the Nile’s annual flow (87 per cent) under a 1959 treaty with Sudan. That agreement didn’t include Ethiopia, which is the source of about 85 per cent of the river’s water, or other downstream states.

“The new pact has not left out Egypt and Sudan. It’s open and they can join us any time,” Mr Kemal added.

Egypt, heavily armed powerful nation, previously threatened military action against water contributing nations if they slow the flow of water to Egypt.

Ethiopia has said it is not worried about the confrontation, even though Addis believes that the situation is not hostile at this time.

However, Egyptian officials are signalling a stern warning to downstream countries not to sign a new deal.

Egypt’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mufid Shehab said that the government considered the issue of Nile water a matter of “life and death,” since 95 per cent of Egypt’s water resources came from the Nile, Almasry Alayoum Arabic newspaper reported.

Mr Mohammed Allam, minister of water resources and irrigation told parliament this week, if the Nile basin countries unilaterally signed, it would be considered the death of the Nile Basin Initiative.