From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Aug 10 2009 - 07:35:32 EDT
Donors back Egypt, Sudan on Nile water pact
By MALINGHA DOYA (email the author)
Posted Monday, August 10 2009 at 00:00
The impartiality of development partners in the ongoing wrangle over the use
of the River Nile waters has come into question after they issued a joint
statement that appeared to endorse Egypt’s stand against the wishes of
upstream countries.
A majority of riparian states, angry over the near veto powers Egypt and
Sudan exercise over the use of Nile waters, wanted a recent meeting of Nile
Basin Initiative members in Cairo to adopt a draft pact that provided for
the establishment of a permanent Nile Basin Commission.
It is believed such a body would erode the significant influence Egypt and
Sudan hold, and the donor statement is being interpreted as a veiled attempt
to maintain the status quo.
The development partners, who are supposed to be impartial, issued a joint
statement against the majority states who adopted a draft pact that would
allow a permanent river-basin Commission to be established for fair use of
the river’s riparian resources.
The statement, issued by the 12 development partners convening under a trust
fund hosted by the World Bank, seemed to favour Egypt and Sudan against the
other seven countries, who decided to adopt a draft agreement and annex
controversial clauses on water security pending resolution.
Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda adopted a draft pact that does not recognise Egypt and Sudan’s
“historical rights and uses” of the Nile waters during the Nile Council of
Ministers (Nile CoM) meeting in Kinshasa in May.
The statement, a copy of which has been obtained by The EastAfrican, reads,
“We are very concerned that outcomes of your meeting may result in some
countries, without others, moving forward with an agreement and a
Commission. Our experience of providing support in other river basins
suggests that this will not deliver the scale of economic and security
benefits and reductions of future risks that basin-wide co-operation will
yield.”
The statement further reads, “We believe, however, that an inclusive
agreement that establishes a Nile River Basin Commission is essential and is
still achievable.”
Sources at the meeting said that some countries took this as a retreat from
impartiality on the part of development partners, who should be observers
only as far as negotiations are concerned.
In these negotiations, nine riparian states are active negotiators, while
Eritrea and development partners represented by the World Bank are
observers.
It is not clear what impact the development partners’ stand on the matter
has had on the negotiations, but information from the recent Nile CoM
meeting in Alexandria in Egypt shows that riparian states are angry at the
intervention.
However, the Nile CoM has set a period of six months to conclude the
much-anticipated blueprint in what appears to be an ultimatum for Egypt and
Sudan to accept a draft agreement that the other seven countries accepted,
or risk isolation.
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