Bold Standpoint Crucial to Ensure Fair Utilization of Nile River: Scholars

Addis Ababa, March 21/2020( ENA)Ethiopians need to have a bold stance for fair and equitable utilization of the shared water resources of Nile River in their move to overcome poverty, scholars said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, President of Addis Ababa University Professor Tasew Woldehan said Ethiopians are in need of electricity.

Researchers have proved that Ethiopia’s electricity demand is growing by 25 percent every year but the country has wide gap behind its much-needed power supply.

So, the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a principal development project of Ethiopia to showcase its overwhelming efforts to combat poverty through electricity production from its water resources, he said.  

According to Professor Tasew, Ethiopia can not meet this huge demand without pursuing economic growth and industrial development using its intact resources. 

He noted that Egypt is tarnished for its sneaky and adamant stand on Nile River blowing hot and cold while it is creating perturbs on the process of the tripartite negotiation which was began in ‘good faith’ of Ethiopia and Sudan.

“We have to boldly show to the rest of the world that Ethiopians are committed to utilize our resources so as to overcome poverty,” Professor Tasew underlined.

“So, Ethiopians have to be stand together on the issue of GERD regardless of our differences,” he added.

President of Kotebe Metropolitan University, Doctor Brhanemeskel Tena said for his part that efforts which have been undertaken by the government to cut back the recent pressures from various parties are encouraging though it remains a lot.

He stated that Egypt is cracking to pressurize Ethiopia and trying to block every spot that can lead to a fair and equitable use of Nile waters.

“The recent move by Egyptian government is based on their gluttony interest. There is no legal or natural back ground to deny Ethiopia as the origin of Blue Nile or Abbay,” he stressed.

“So, if all Ethiopians all over the world could stand together, we can achieve what we want. This is not an issue of one party or two. This is a national issue”.

Brhanemeskel noted that along the government and the diplomatic community, Universities and other educational institutions have the responsibility to make the international community conscious the reality by and large the enigmatic policy of Egypt towards unfair Nile waters use.

Ethiopia temporarily suspended its participation in the U.S.-mediated negotiations over the filling and operation of the GERD demanding for fair negotiations.

In 2015, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt agreed on a Declaration of Principles that stipulated an “equitable and reasonable” utilization of the Nile that will not cause “significant harm” to other riparian countries.