From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Apr 19 2010 - 10:43:40 EDT
Ethiopia - Djibouti: Row erupts over new port directive
Monday 19 April 2010 / by Desalegn Sisay
A row has erupted between Ethiopia and the government of Djibouti over the
latter's promulgation of a new directive, issued last week, that will see
Ethiopia lose millions of dollars in port operations.
The directive establishes a monopoly, in favor of Maersk Djibouti Freight
Station, over operations involving the stuffing and unstuffing of containers
at the Djibouti port.
The operation, which was hitherto handled by all forwarding companies, could
cost Ethiopia some 9 million dollars per year.
Talking to a local newspaper, Fortune, Mekonnen Abera, director general of
Ethiopian Port Affairs Authority said the directive violates a 2002
bilateral agreement between the two countries.
Under the agreement, Djibouti is expected to provide Ethiopia with a 60 day
notification prior to price increments or actions that affect the port's
operations.
"It is a huge decision. We need to talk and want the case to remain pending
in the meantime," Mekonnen said ahead of a planned official visit to
Djibouti, next week, to closely examine the issue with his Djibouti
counterpart.
Ethiopian Freight Forwarders and Shipping Agents Association have also
complained about the directive.
In a letter addressed to Aden Ahmed Dualeh, board chairman of Djibouti port
authority, the association argues that third party handling in what concerns
container stuffing and unstuffing operations could lead to a confusion over
who should bear responsibility in case of damage, shortage or mixing of
cargos.
In line with the directive, Maersk has already imposed a 100 dollar tariff
per container that enters its premises for stuffing or unstuffing.
Ethiopia has an average of 100,000 in-bound containers unstuffed and an
average of 30,00-40,000 out-bound containers stuffed at the Djibouti port
per annum.
- Also read: <http://en.afrik.com/article16538.html> Ethiopian economy
highly affected by Djibouti port tariffs
Egypt and Ethiopia Lock horns over Nile water deal
Monday 19 April 2010 / by Desalegn Sisay, Djamel Belayachi
http://en.afrik.com/local/cache-vignettes/L160xH126/arton17382-60ee1.jpg
Egypt's fight to hold on to its monopoly over the Nile's water resource has
split the Nile dependent countries into two groups with Sudan supporting the
north African country. But notwithstanding the northern African country's
claim to veto power, by virtue of an 80 year old treaty signed with Great
Britain, and attempts to get Ethiopia, which leads the upper riparian
countries, to soften its position, Ethiopian Water Resource Minister has
announced that the signing of a Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) that
seeks a fairer use of the Nile's water resource will go ahead, with or
without Egypt and Sudan's agreement.
An Extraordinary Nile Council of Ministers' Meeting that saw the gathering
of all ten Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) member countries last week at Sharm
El-Cheikh, in Egypt, failed to produce an agreement over the sharing of the
Nile's resources. Egypt, supported by Sudan, refused to give its stamp of
approval to a Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) that seeks to develop
the Nile river in a cooperative manner and share its resources equally
without causing significant harm to other riparian countries. The meeting
which assembled both Upper riparian countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya,
Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Burundi) and lower
riparian countries (Egypt, Sudan) revealed the deep
<http://en.afrik.com/article15667.html> fissure that separates the two
groups. An agreement signed in 1929 with Great Britain on behalf of its East
African colonies, and another in 1959 between Egypt and Sudan allowed Egypt
alone to use 55.5 billion cubic meters (87% of the Nile's flow) and Sudan
18.5 cubic meters of water each year.
The CFA, which was finalized during a previous meeting in 2009, in Kinshasa,
DRC, questions the near monopoly Egypt and Sudan hold over the Nile river.
Mohamed Allam, Irrigation Minister of Egypt, had announced, ahead of the
Sharm El-Cheikh meeting that his country intended to hold on to every drop
of its annual 55.5 billion cubic meter water quota, which represents half of
the Nile's water resource. Among other things, Cairo claims a veto power
over all new irrigation projects in NBI member countries, without which, it
claims, its "historical right" over the Nile will be undermined.
Ethiopia, which contributes to 85 per cent of Egypt's Nile resource and
plays a significant role in the negotiations, while enjoying a highly
strategic position among the upper riparian countries as a key member,
<http://en.afrik.com/article16707.html> came under scrutiny when the Eastern
African country signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), late last year,
to establish an Ethiopia-Egypt Council of Commerce with the aim of
strengthening economic ties between the two countries. Observers argued that
a future shift by Ethiopia on the Nile negotiations was imminent after the
Ethiopian Prime Minister indicated, at the signing of the MoU, that the two
countries will develop the Nile Basin jointly through the Nile Basin
Initiative.
Hani Raslan, who heads the department for Sudan and Nile Basin countries at
the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo believes
that "after Egypt's offer of financial assistance and investment, Ethiopia
has noticeably moderated its position on water sharing (.) Addis Ababa has
even begun to play the role of mediator between Egypt and Sudan and upstream
states like Congo, Kenya and Tanzania."
Ethiopia steadfast
But, Ethiopia's Water Resource Minister, Asfaw Dingano, reacting to the
impasse told journalists on Friday, April 16, that the seven upper riparian
countries will go ahead with the signing of the CFA, set to begin May 14 and
remain open for a year, with or without the agreement of Egypt and Sudan.
With nearly forty articles established to date within the framework of the
Nile Basin Initiative, Egypt and Sudan oppose any agreement that modifies
their water quota. According to Asfaw, Egypt, seconded by Sudan, rejected
the agreement after citing two articles as being particularly problematic,
although they had come to a consensus on the subject during the group's
previous meeting.
According to Hani Raslan, "Egypt has the right to maintain its current share
of Nile water under international law." He further argued in a recent
interview on <http://www.rnw.nl/nederlands> RNW, a Dutch radio, that the
upper riparian countries should not reproach Egypt's position, as the
country depends on the Nile for 95 per cent of its water needs, whereas the
"upstream countries depend on the river for as little as 5 percent of their
water needs."
Egypt, which has since the last decade been qualified as a water-scarce
country, and Sudan have been consistent in their opposition to all deals
that seek to renegotiate the several decades old treaties that give them a
lion's share of the Nile River's water resource.
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