Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Book Review: "The Renaissance Dam...The Game of Water Banks in Nile Basin Countries"


Sun 14 Jun 2020 | 01:19 AM
H-Tayea

Under the title "The Renaissance Dam...The game of water banks in the Nile Basin countries", a new book has been written by Egyptian journalist Mustafa Khallaf, during which he reveals the most dangerous scenarios that have been planned for a number of years ago to set up many dams along the Ethiopian plateau to store and control the Nile water, which had been addressed in various stages of its history.

Khallaf said that the book reveals a dubious scheme aimed at harming Egypt's water quota of the Nile, estimated at 55.5 million cubic meters, in addition to canceling agreements that affirm Egypt's historical right to the Nile water.

Khallaf indicated that Ethiopia is seeking to establish its Grand Renaissance Dam with the aim of fully diminishing the role of the High Dam and control the of Nile water flowing to the downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan.

The 12-chapter book discusses the dimensions of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis in light of Egypt's long efforts that have reached a final round in the hope of reaching a fair agreement guarantees no negative impacts will be caused by the dam on the various aspects of life.

The writer also pointed out that Ethiopia and other regional countries are seeking to make the GERD as the first water bank in the world and through which water will be used as commodity to be bought and sold like the oil.

Khallaf added that the Nile waters were and will always subject to direct and indirect international violations, noting that Egypt has made great efforts throughout history to secure the Nile from its upstream to downstream because it represents the lifeline of Egypt and the Egyptians.

He added that Egypt, throughout of history, sacrificed thousands of souls in combating the continuous foreign threats against the Nile waters.

The book noted that Egypt provided all support to African countries, especially the Nile Basin countries, adding that it never voiced objection to the establishment of the GERD as long as it would not affect its share of water.

Khallaf stated that Egypt signed the Declaration of Principles agreement in 2015 to show its good intentions and enhance the principle of mutual trust with the Nile Basin countries in laying down fair and balanced solutions, but it was surprised by the withdrawal the Ethiopian side from the US-brokered negotiations.

He said that Egypt will witness high demand on water during the coming period, especially in light of the rapid increase in the population and the new expansion projects in the country, warning that 85% of Egypt's share of the Nile water comes specifically from the Ethiopian highlands

He stressed that the GERD project still represents a threat to Egypt in light of intransigence showed by the Ethiopian side, including withdrawal from negotiations that were taking place under the auspices of the US and the World Bank, in addition to the indifferences on the filling and storage period and the way the dam is operated.

The faltering of talks is expected to take its toll further on Cairo and Addis Ababa’s relations, resulting in a constant tug-of-war and accusations over the collapse of talks.

The growing conflict in the past months has led to a diplomatic war of words between Cairo and Addis Ababa that landed at the UN Security Council.

Cairo had demanded ahead of the meetings last week for a timeframe for the technical talks with Ethiopia and Sudan on the dam, according to a statement by the Egyptian National Security Council chaired by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

It said a timeframe for the talks was crucial so as to not allow talks from becoming “a new tool for stalling or evading the obligations of the Declaration of Principles of 2015.”

Ethiopia hopes the massive $4.8 billion megaproject on the Blue Nile, which has been under construction since 2011, will allow it to become Africa’s largest power exporter.

Egypt receives an annual release of 55.5 billion cubic metres from its High Aswan Dam, while it requires over 80 billion cubic metres to meet its needs. The country bridges the gap by water recycling and reuse.

Cairo fears the dam will diminish its water supply from the Nile, on which it relies for the vast majority of its fresh water.

The populous country currently has a water share of around 570 cubic metres per person annually, well below the water scarcity level of 1,000 cubic metres per person per year. The figure is expected to drop further to 500 cubic metres by 2025.