Rift widens over Nile Basin pact as Egypt, Sudan remain reluctant

ADDIS ABABA - Disagreements on River Nile security have split the Nile basin member countries as deadline to sign the Cooperative Framework Agreement nears. The Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement seeks the establishment of a permanent Nile River Basin Commission through which member countries will act together to manage and develop the resources of the Nile. But no agreement on possibilities has been reached yet as Egypt and Sudan are said to be reluctant to sign the agreement. The 39-article agreement must be adopted by all basin states before June and then ratified before entering into force as an international treaty. Up to date, seven out of nine Nile Basin countries have adopted the new agreement which Egypt and Sudan refused to adopt. The states are Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt and Burundi. Several government officials and stakeholders who turned up for the second celebrations of the Nile Day held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia recently blamed Egypt and Sudan for delaying to sign the pact. In an interview with the Uganda’s minister for water resources, who also doubles as the chairperson of the Nile Council of Ministers responsible for Water Affairs (Nile-COM), Maria Mutagamba, confirmed that the two North African countries denied embracing the deal. She said: the Nile-COM failed to reach a consensus in the 2006 meeting that was supposed to review the framework agreement and decided to forward the issue to the Heads of State since Sudan and Egypt had refused to adopt some articles. It is frustrating that up to date the two countries have kept silent and preferred to distance themselves from this treaty. However, I believe that during my term (as the chair of the Nile-COM) I will ensure that all countries sign the agreement despite the existing misunderstanding, she said. She added that the signing of the treaty would only succeed if all Heads of State reach an agreement on the terms of the document and sign it. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Minister for Water, Ato Abiy Hailu, emphasised that the nine Heads of State from the riparian countries will have to ensure that they come up with one stand on the issue. Negotiations on this issue have been going on for about eight years; up to now there is no clear answer to it. That is why our top leaders need to use their powers to have this treaty ratified, he said. The accord was expected to be signed in September last year but it was delayed because of lack of consensus on some articles in the agreement. The new agreement is expected to replace the old one of 1929 but Egypt and Sudan are opposed to it for fear that it would limit their access to the Nile waters. Point of contention The new treaty’s strength lies in five main articles, but has since degenerated heated debate among member countries. Among the most contentious provisions include article 4, which is on equitable and reasonable use of the Nile waters, Article 5 (prevention of harm to the waters), Article 6 (protection and conservation of the basin and its ecosystem) and Article 8, which requires prior informed consent before using the waters. The new wording puts a check on the 1929 treaty, which required the riparian states to seek permission before using the Nile waters. Egypt and Sudan depend almost entirely on the Nile for their agricultural production and are major users of the 6,700 km river’s waters. The basin of Nile, the longest river in the world, is about three million sq km. But the water conflict dwells most on article 14 which has remained unresolved. It is this unfinished business of Article 14 that talks about water security that indicates that the negotiations may have not yield much after all in terms of real benefits for the downstream states. The article states: ‘Having due regard for the provisions of Articles 4 and 5, Nile Basin States recognize the vital importance of water security to each of them. The States also recognize that cooperative management and development of the waters of the Nile River system will facilitate achievement of water security and benefits. Nile Basin States therefore agree, in a spirit of cooperation, to work together to ensure that all states achieve and sustain water security and not to significantly affect the water security of any other Nile Basin State.’ All the states agreed to this provision except Egypt and Sudan that want the last part of the article re-phrased as ‘…Not to adversely affect the water security and current uses and rights of any other Nile Basin States’. Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and DR Congo have rejected rephrasing the article which has left the agreement hanging. Egypt denies Egypt and Sudan have been pushing for the reinforcement of the old treaty that only favours them but majority countries have also maintained their position. However, Egypt denies frustrating the agreement, saying it was only questioning some clauses. It is a matter of some clauses in the agreement that we are trying to (reach a consensus over) with out sister countries, the Chancellor of the Egyptian Embassy in Kigali, M.H Kandil Kandil, said on Thursday. He refuted allegations by the other riparian states which accuse Egypt of only looking at her own interests. We did not refuse to sign at any point; we are the initiators of the agreement and are pushing for it to be signed in the shortest time possible, he told The New Times. He added: Egypt is looking at achieving firm cooperation and sustainable development through effective use of the Nile. Basically the river is the heart and vein of life for Egypt and there is no way we can block the cooperative framework, the diplomat added. I am afraid (those people) are wrong; we are instead on the forefront to have this framework in place and are determined than anybody else, he added. He however declined to specify the clauses in question. By press time it was not possible to get a comment from Sudanese officials over the matter. But pundits say it that Egypt and Sudan that have pushed for maintenance of the status quo are also the biggest beneficiaries of the water. Egypt is guaranteed access to 55.5 billion cubic meters of water, out of a total of 84 billion cubic meters. The Cooperative Framework negotiations began in 1997 with a panel of experts (POE) analyzing international precedents like drawing on the UN Convention for the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997) and the experience of other basins. Ends

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Rift widens over Nile Basin pact as Egypt, Sudan remain reluctant