Editor, A map showing the River Nile. (Net) Reference is made to the letter, “Rwanda should use Nile water as it pleases” (The New Times, March 25). What amount of Nile River does Rwanda have? If the source of the Nile is in Rwanda (by the way, Burundi claims the same thing- in Rutovu, Bururi Province), seal it up and see if the Nile will dry up. Kazenga ***************** I do understand that Mr Kazenga might not be informed. Every upstream reduction of these waters (whoever claims to have the furthest source—even Tanzania claims to have one) is a reduction of available waters downstream. What if we used Nyabarongo and Akagera to irrigate our marshland and our arid soil in the north-eastern part? That has never been possible, due to a long overdue agreement rooted in colonial era, which gave Egypt the exclusivity to the utilisation of the Nile. Quick question: How much economic and political ties do we have (as Rwanda) with Egypt to justify a fully-fledged embassy presence? Do you know which country first reopened its embassy in Rwanda after the Genocide? Lesson: A small, remote country like Rwanda claims its waters so can Uganda, Tanzania, and more important Ethiopia do (Ethiopia really wields the biggest upstream water volume). If you happened to have been born before 1980, you might probably recall the images of hungry, starving Ethiopian children that have become the most representative image of Africa in many western and African minds—until today. Can you imagine that they were starving while having the Nile waters but could not irrigate their farms? At that time, a mighty Egypt (above 60 million people at that time), protected by American military funding, while being the only biggest Arab country befriended to Israel, was just irrigating their farms and not experiencing any drought at all. The recent (tri-partite) deal to utilise the waters was only possible due to the current change in the economic-geopolitical situation that now makes Egypt security-politically vulnerable and ready to engage its neighbours. Now, the Rennaissance Dam is going to be built; unbelievable how the Ethiopians can irrigate to a certain extent as well—so do we. Egypt has seen water around itself, the technology to de-salinate it is there and proven (read Israel), they should use it and let us be. We should use the water, full stop. Gill
