Nairobi — The establishment of the Nile River Basin Commission to manage the resources of the world's longest river faces an uncertain future after lawmakers from Kenya, a key riparian state, rejected the draft treaty at the weekend.

The action by Kenyan parliamentarians could pit the country in water rows with Egypt and Sudan and also deny the Nile Basin Initiative crucial funds for investments.

The MPs comprising members of the lands and natural resources committee rejected the draft during a meeting with the Nile Basin Initiative secretariat in Kisumu.

They later called for more negotiations on the draft treaty, just days after the Egypt Nile Council of Ministers (NILECOM) resolved to strengthen co-operation in water resources management.

Unlimited accessThe minister's meeting was held at the port city of Alexandria in Egypt early last week. The Kenyan parliamentarians are now championing for a treaty that gives the upstream states unhindered access to the Nile waters so long as they do not cause significance harm to other members.

In essence, the legislators are demanding the opening up of a clause (article 14b) which relates to historical water rights and uses, and gives Egypt access to more than half of the river's annual flow.

The article was annexed during the Nile Council of Ministers conference in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, in May and was to be refined by an international audit committee.

The legislators have vowed to shoot down the draft agreement when it is brought to Parliament unless it is refined to give the upstream states unlimited access to the waters of River Nile.

Committee chairman, Rev Mutava Musyimi, said "further negotiations and understanding" were needed on the draft.