Egypt: Nile River Basin States in Appeal to Countries

29 September 2009

Mathias Ringa

Nairobi — Countries of the River Nile basin have appealed to Egypt and Sudan to co-operate in the formulation of an agreement which would allow equitable utilization of water resources.

Water minister Charity Ngilu said it was unfair for the two countries to maintain a status quo on the usage of the Nile water resources at the expense of other states.

Mrs Ngilu noted that the prolonged and protracted consultations on the Nile basin collaborative framework was causing anxiety and displeasure amongst riparian countries which are not benefiting from the resource.

The minister said the 1929 agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom has been viewed as protecting the interests of the developed downstream riparian states at the expense of the underdeveloped upstream states.

Mrs Ngilu said: "We want the legal framework swiftly concluded and operationalised to save the Lake Victoria and reassure the livelihood of 15 million people bordering the basin.

"Kenya expects Egypt and Sudan to cooperate since their needs are best served through the conservation of the Lake Victoria basin.We would like the downstream riparian states to assist in conserving the lake."

Mrs Ngilu made the remarks in a speech which was read on her behalf by Water resources director John Nyaoro at Sun N' Sand Beach Resort in Kilifi during a workshop on Climate Change and Transboundary water conflict in Africa.

She called on the two countries to ensure peaceful and sustainable development of transboundary waters to avert conflict with other states.

The workshop which was organized by Institute for Security Studies was attended by participants from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, South Africa, Niger, Zambia among other countries.

ISS acting director Roba Sharamo said the organization through its conflict prevention program had brought up the riparian countries to find means of tackling the stand-off through dialogue.

Mr Sharomo urged Eypt and Sudan to agree to the sharing of the water resources so as to foster cooperation, conservation and boosting food security of riparian countries.

An Ethiopian senior researcher Dr Debay Tadesse called for the preparation of a general framework for cooperation in the Nile River basin with specific reference to equitable utilization of the water resources.

Dr Tadesse said approaches to conflict resolution and resource management would develop the upstream riparian countries which were unable to meet food security.

The researcher demanded for the revision of the status quo through the generation of options to avoid potential confrontation and enhance stability and conservation of the water resources.

"The first logical step is to discuss the issue of the Nile with a desire to finding a lasting solution. The degree of mistrust characterizing the riparian countries has to be avoided through mutual agreement," Dr Tadesse said.

He noted that both the 1929 and 1959 agreements were only bilateral and did not include the other riparian countries of the Nile despite the fact that partitioning was done for all of the river's waters.

The researcher said unless the water resources were shared equally among the concerned states a conflict might occur.

"The existing model based on the status quo early and mid 20th century is deeply flawed. The agreements which were made many years ago have been rejected by the rest of the riparian countries and this might trigger a conflict," he added.

When reached for comment over the issue on the sidelines of the workshop, Dr Magdy Hefny who is the director of the regional center for research and studies of water ethics said he was not in a position to talk about the matter.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909291057.html.