Nairobi — Optimism is growing that the tension between Egypt, Sudan and upstream countries over the construction of the Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile could ease after Egypt said last week it was ready for talks.
Egypt's ambassador to Ethiopia, Tarek Ghoneim, said renegotiating the allocation of Nile waters and raising transparency in the matter would be very healthy and good for Egypt and the region.
The region has seen months of heated public debate around the renegotiation of Nile water sharing sanctioned by colonial agreements.
East African Community states have expressed their intention to restart stalled negotiations with Egypt on the use of the Nile waters.
A communiqué released after a meeting by EAC presidents in Dar es Salaam, last week said that "The Summit reiterated its readiness to host a special summit to advance negotiations on the Nile water question with a view to realising a mutually acceptable solution among all riparian states."
The wave of democratic change sweeping North Africa in the past few months has presented an opportunity for upstream countries to overhaul the colonial-era policies that had given Egypt the lion's share of the Nile waters and veto power over hydro projects on the river.
Analysts say that Egypt, eager to re-engineer itself and enhance its global clout as a leader of both Arab and African nations, has to change its posture from that of a bully over the Nile waters to a more diplomatic negotiator.
Towards this end, a delegation of 40 Egyptian representatives visited Kampala in early April to hold talks with President Yoweri Museveni concerning new plans for the sharing of Nile Basin water.
Delegation co-ordinator Mostafa Gendy said that "What the delegation is trying to do is build upon the sympathy that the African people showed towards our revolution and to work towards a new start."
However, according to reports, negotiations stalled when the delegation objected to the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, formerly known as the Grand Millennium Dam project, to be located about 40 kilometres from Ethiopia's border with Sudan.
Until now, Egypt had snubbed talks on the Nile Basin Co-operative Framework Agreement (CFA), recently signed by the upstream Nile basin countries - Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi - it is hoped that the latest move will culminate in enhancing dialogue on the CFA.
The Agreement would re-order Nile water sharing, at present still regulated by two 1929 and 1959 deals that allow Egypt a 90 per cent allocation of the river's waters.
Of the water reaching the Aswan Dam in Egypt in a normal year, 86 percent originates in Ethiopia.
The Renaissance Dam project is Ethiopia's biggest infrastructure project to date.
It is expected to generate 5,250 MW of power and will cost $4.8 billion to construct.
The massive project will be Africa's largest hydroelectric dam and the world's 10th largest, with twice the generating capacity of Hoover Dam in the United States.
Financing of the dam will be a major challenge. Global donors and banks are unlikely to provide the finance needed to build upstream water projects for fear of getting snarled up in a regional diplomatic row.
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation recently issued a government bond dubbed the "Millennium Bond" to raise capital for the project, with a maturity period of five years at an interest of five per cent.
It is hoped that the bond issue will raise $650 million from Ethiopians at home and abroad.
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MY BROTHERS THIS IN TERMS OF MONEY 4.8BILLION IS SMALL MONEY WORLD WIDE . THIS IS WHY ITS NECESSARY TO HAVE YOUR OWN MONEY AND BANKING SYSTEM THIS IS WHAT IS MEANT BY INDEPENDENCE ALSO THE POWER OF UNITY IS THE FREWIZE INTELLECT OF THE COLLECTIVENESS OF ALL THE PEOPLE. THIS COLLECTIVENESS WAS THE STRENTGH THAT GUIDED EGYPT TO INDEPENDENCE. ALL THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA HAS TO SUPPORT THE BIG PROJECTS THAT REFLECT THE REBUILDING OF AFRICA IN ITS OWN IMAGE. IT SHOULD BE SEEN IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA AS "THE INDEPENDENT MOTHER AND FATHER OF CREATION THAT IT IS". WORKING WITH ALL AFRICA ON BIG PROJECTS SHOULD BE THE GOAL OF AFRICAN LEADERS COMMING TOGETHER IN "ONE AIM" "ONE HEART" "ONE DESTINY" . THE ASPIRATIONS OF BROTHERHOOD IS THE PRICE OF ACOMPLISHMENT "YOU ARE YOUR BROTHERS KEEPER" TO HAVE REACHED THIS FAR IS MONUMENTAL ; I ASK LEADERS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER ALL THE PEOPLE THEY ARE THE BEAT THAT GOVERNS YOUR HEART . WISE IS TO ALWAYS HEAR; DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EARS TO YOUR POPULATIONS . ALWAYS SEEK THEIR BLESSINGS WHEN DOING SIGNATURE THINGS. EGYPT IS AFRICA ETHIOPIA IS THE HEAD OF AFRICA FROM THE BEGINNING THE GENESIS. THE IMPROVEMENT OF POWER TO EAST AFRICA WILL IMMENSELY CHANGE THE SHAPE OF ALL AFRICA . FROM THE EAST THE RIGHTEOUSMAN ARISES.RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL PREVAIL ON THIS GLORIOUS CONTINENT. THE BELIVERS OF "OUR GLORIOUS CREATOR" WILL REDEFINE AND REMEBER HOW WEVE ALWAYS PRAISED "THE ALLMIGHTYGOD OF CREATION" THE REGION AS WE KNOW WITH THOSE WHO SPEAK ARABIC IS NOT UNCOMMON THEIER ARE MANY THRUOUT ALL AFRICA WHO SPEAK ARABIC. AFRICA WAS CHOSEN BY THE PROPHET AS THE LANGUAGE OF CHOICE. BUT I SAY TO ALL THE TRUE BELIEVERS THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE ESTRANGED OR DIFFERENT . MANY MANY MOONS WE WERE ALL THESAME ONE IN HEART ONE IN IDENTIFICATION AND ONE IN SOLIDARITY "SO FRET NOT AND SPERATE NOT THYSELVES" FOR HE IS WHO CREATED ALL IS STILL TO WHOM WE ANSWER TO . THJE WAY OF THE COLONISER IS TO REMAIN WITHIN HIS PORTFOLIO FROM WHICH HE CAN RULE AND REIGN REMEBER DIVIDE AND RULE IS HIS WAY. THAT IS WHY FOR WHAT EVER REASON YOU FIND YOU CAN NOT FIND RESOURCES FOR THINGS WHICH BENEFIT HUNDREDS OF THOUISANDS AND MILLIONS ITS BEST TO CONSULT WITH ALL THE BROTHERS ONE HAND WASHES THE OTER BOTH HANDS WASH THE FACE. THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH SHARED VALUES . YOU DO NOT NEED THE UN OR THE EU YOU NEED EACH OTHER.THIS IS BROTHERHOOD. FOR FURTHER ARGUMENT . FOR ALL OUR ARABIC SPEAKING BROTHERS IN THE REGION ITS "ALL ABOUT BROTHERHOOD." DO NOT SEPERATE THE STRUGGLES "THEPOWEWR OF THE MANY IS STRONGER THAN THE POWER OF THE FEW".
This is a gloomer of hope for Ethiopia which was tragically prohibited not to use her own natural resource for centuaries.All the residuals of the colonial supression are leaving Africa step by step. And neibouring countries are stepping into oppening their door for negotiation on their mutual benefits which has a positive impact on the unity of africa.