Egypt Accuses Ethiopia of Using Renaissance Dam for Political Purposes

On Monday, Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Ati, accused Addis Ababa of using the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for political purposes, saying that Addis Ababa is working to create a rift between the Nile downstream countries “Egypt and Sudan” and the African countries.

In press statements, Abdel-Ati said that Ethiopia is using the GERD for a political purpose and not for technical ones, noting that “the African Union failed to provide solutions to the Ethiopian dam crisis.

He added that Addis Ababa is working to create a state of a split among the two Nile downstream countries and the African countries.

Abdel-Ati stressed that Ethiopia does not have the political will to sign a binding legal agreement over the filling of the dam, indicating that there are technical problems in the Renaissance Dam.

The minister stressed that the Egyptian state will not allow a water crisis to occur due to Ethiopia's intention to go ahead with the second filling of the dam in July, noting that the principle of selling water is not on the table.

Ethiopia’s rejection of several proposals by Egypt and Sudan on the negotiation mechanism, which includes international quartet mediation, has led to the collapse of the Kinshasa talks sponsored by the African Union in April.

The three countries have resorted to diplomacy in the past weeks, briefing regional and international counterparts on their stances and developments on the latest deadlock in negotiations.

Abdel-Ati said negotiations are still at an impasse despite the efforts of the Chairman of the African Union, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, and the US Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman to break the stalemate.

“Tripartite cooperation and data sharing are needed to ensure the downstream countries will not be harmed by GERD,” he noted.

Egypt’s 100 million-plus population depends on the Nile for over 95 percent of its freshwater.

Sudan fears the GERD will put the operation of its Roseires dam and the lives of 20 million Sudanese citizens at “a very high risk” if an agreement regulating the operation and filling of GERD is not reached before the second filling.

It warned that it will take legal action if Ethiopia moved forward with the second filling of the GERD in July without first signing a legally binding agreement.

Egypt fears that the massive $4.8 billion Ethiopian hydropower project will significantly diminish its crucial water supply, which is already below the scarcity level.