From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Jun 01 2009 - 21:12:05 EDT
Tuesday, 2nd June 2009
Egypt has no right to block us from using Nile water, EAC says
By Benson Kathuri
Five East African Community (EAC) partner states have vowed to block Egypt’s
fresh attempt to prevent them from using water from River Nile and that
flowing into Lake Victoria.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda have trashed the argument by
Egypt that it holds historical rights to bar other countries on the Nile
basin from using the water without direct approval from Cairo.
During a meeting in Kinshasa, DRC, ten days ago, Egypt and Sudan, that
entirely depend on River Nile for electricity generation and irrigation,
failed to convince the other Nile Basin riparian countries to abide by
treaties signed in the 1920s giving such rights.
The four went ahead to endorse the River Nile Cooperative Framework
Agreement (CFA) that provides a formula for using the waters.
Though they pledged to consult other riparian countries when undertaking
major projects using the waters, they vowed not to recognise the treaties
signed between Sudan and Egypt and the British colonial Government.
"The Kenya Government should be able to sign the framework agreement within
the next three months," said Mr John Nyoro, the director in the Ministry of
Water, who led the negotiating team.
New agreement
Speaking during a Press briefing in Nairobi, Nyoro said Ethiopia and DRC
supported the new agreement while Eritrea enjoys observer status.
Kenya is unable to fully use water from rivers mainly in western Kenya that
flow into Lake Victoria because such a move would affect the flow of River
Nile.
Nyoro said six countries are required to sign the agreement to make it
operational and all the four EAC countries have agreed to endorse it soon.
The new twists come at a time when donor funds pledged over a decade ago to
start the initiative are drying up, casting doubts whether the ambitious
development programmes identified are sustainable.
A consortium of donor agencies led by the World Bank have released $130
million (Sh9 billion) out of $150 million (Sh10 billion) pledged when it
started over ten years ago, leaving only $20 million to be released.
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