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Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

May 10, 2011(ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia will never stop its program to construct the recently launched massive hydro power project in Nile River whether Egyptians welcome it or not, government officials said on Tuesday ahead of the Egyptian prime minister’s visit to Addis Ababa this week.

“There won’t be any reason that would stop or delay the undergoing construction of the Nile Dam. It is not something based on the goodwill of Egyptians” Shimels Kemal, a spokesman for the Communications Ministry of Ethiopia, told Sudan Tribune.

Egypt, which failed to thwart a recent pact on Nile water use signed by six riparian countries, had recently sent a 48-member popular delegation to discuss the issue with Ethiopia despite the latter’s insistence the plan was not intended to harm Egypt.

As goodwill gesture Addis Ababa agreed to postpone ratification of the new treaty.

“Ethiopia only agreed to delay ratifying the new Nile pact until Egypt elects new government, if the upcoming rule in Egypt accepts the project we will push building the dam in joint cooperation” Ethiopian state minister for foreign affairs Birhane Gebrekirstos said.

“However if the new government in Egypt rejects to accept and bends to its old stance the program never stops and we will still carry on the project to end”.

The state Minister said Egypt’s Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, accompanied by senior officials, will arrive in Addis Ababa on Thursday for a two day visit.

According to the official, the Nile will be the main topic of discussion as well as some other bilateral issues.

“The Egyptian delegation will be briefed on the Nile project to illustrate them it doesn’t hurt them and we hope a common understanding will be reached between the two sides”, Gebrekirstos said.

Ethiopia has allowed a team of Sudanese and Egyptian experts along with other Ethiopian and international scientists, to observe the new dam in a bid to convince them the project is not intended to hurt them.

(ST)

10 Comments

  • onlysonmabi
    onlysonmabi

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    To the Ethiopian government why do you deal with Khartoum government alone and neglect South Sudan government and we have left with 50 days to be a new Nation,you and your Arab have no Nile please? stop that.

    Reply
  • Almek
    Almek

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    I like this solid Ethiopian Government’s stand!
    Egyptians had given closed ears until now to Ethiopia’s right of using the nile. Egyptians have been an obstacle for Ethiopia not to get loan or grant from any fund source. Moreover, they have been doing their level best to destabilize the country by funding gangs like Esayas of Eritrea and Alshabab of Somalia. Now is the time for Ethiopia to move on and construct the dam with its own resources. Hopelessly, Egypt has now started to run here and there, when it is too late.

    God bless Ethiopia!

    Reply
  • DASODIKO
    DASODIKO

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    Oh Ethiopia Oh Ethiopia, you don’t know that your name is black before Caucasians began to reorder the earth to suit themselves. Oh Ethiopia your history began 5,000 years back. Oh Ethiopia you are not just todays Ethiopia; you start from Mediterranean Sea in North Africa up West Sudan from Atlantic Ocean in the west and Indian Ocean up to Zim Zim that is today Zimbabwe the Mulattoes todays Egyptians the off springs of our sisters breeds with Asian, Arabs and Caucasians have committed genocide on your people and after all deceived your African people by a treaty called Baqat signed on 652 AD between Arabs. And that was the fall the last kingdom of Africa in Alwa 1504 AD and there our enslavement began. Egypt is a black land including everything in Egypt except the people. The only indigenous of Egypt today are those Blacks in the upper Nile who are treated today like animals. They are those who failed to run south with their brothers to regroup for new attacks against the invaders. My question to todays Ethiopia what do you want to give to the genociders? a hug water or fire back? We are grouping to regain Egypt and North Africa tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  • Liberator
    Liberator

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    Ethiopia

    Are the only principled True Africans in the whole continent of Africa.

    Ethiopia was the only country not colonized of the whole continent. With the help with NUER(my uncle included) warriors and Anyuak you dropped out the Italians. And that is why Nuer have special place in Ethiopians history.

    Ethiopian, I’m hoping with the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar in the new South Sudan that we can bring back the lost sister nation of Eritrea in the fold. so that we have a United Horn Africa and indeed the whole Africa.

    Reply
  • dengtaath
    dengtaath

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    hahahahahaha, I just laugh, Nile water is a life for Egypt, countries like Eastern africa where the river passes by are prohibited to use the water, what a joke. Ethiopia has a full right to construct their hydroelectric power, Egypt mus stop bulying the Eastern African countries.

    Reply
  • Wolleyewu
    Wolleyewu

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    This Abay dam is the biggest and funiest drama ever featured by Woyane in their 20 years of Ethiopian collony by the Tigrians.

    Every body knows this project is an ideal never will be implemented. Because the government has no national agenda (interest)from the very time it came to power. Rather they are dismantling the country by offering Assab port to Eriteria, acknowledging Eriterian independence before any one, granting fertile lands of Ethiopia to sudan to repay the favor they had been given during by the sudanes in fighting Derg.

    Now, on their last term in office Meles and his Co will do every thing to realise the advancment of Tigray over the other regions in Ethiopia.

    Currently, they are ambitious with the construction of rail way connecting each district in Tigray. So there is no money either in load or id from international community so they fabricated Abay dam construction project once again using the advantage of the destitute sitution in Ethiopia.

    That is the reality, so I donot think Egiptians would worry that much becuase they have already been informed this very confidentials drama inadvance but they should play their part to help the governamnt and find the way they could get external financial aid.

    Guys let me give you very simple example that the project is fake.

    In Tekeze dam construction the bid is given to Chines contractor involving 1000 renouned chines engineer and yet in Abay which is tought to be 10 times powerful river dam construction the contractor is Salini, one mafia from Italy with no capacity even to build small RIVER Borkena in Wollo.

    Reply
  • richard
    richard

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    Wwwwooooooo wwwwoooooooo wwwwwoooooooo…..

    There is to much noise over here… some are praising the country, which is shame of Africa, and others simply brag over an illusionary dam.

    The thing is so simple.

    1) Let the world’s second most destitute country spend the supposedly good 4.78 Billion Dollar (God knows from where?)

    2) This poor country says it will take 4 – 5 years to finish this imaginary dam plus 2 – 3 Years a must delay of delay in case of budgetary constraint, inflation, war with Eritrea etc …

    3) In the 4 – 5 years many things can happen.

    4) The Egyptians, Sudanese and other interested parties who has an Axe to grind with the Meles Regime, have all the time then to think of using this opportunity to their advantage.

    One thing is for sure. They won’t do anything yet until all the money this poor country can collect spend on this dam. That will create an already deficit of 4.7 Billion dollar.

    Then they will facilitate a regime change by mobilizing the Ethiopian rebels from all corner and by initiating a direct military intervention from some corners who has some issues that hasn’t yet resolved and waiting for the right moment to use their might.

    After that it only takes a few flights from somewhere to demolish the entire structure to ashes.

    Be real ….

    Don’t make too much noise before it has started … Seeing is believing.

    After all it is all about NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE and for Egypt it is TOP of the top National Security and they are ready to pay the price for it.

    ARE YOU???????

    Reply
  • seyoum777
    seyoum777

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    While the plane carrying the new Egyptian Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, was descending to the runway below, he might have a glimpse of Addis Ababa partially blanketed in darkness as power blackouts are common in this otherwise vibrant and growing city. A rational and evenhanded fellow in the person of His Excellency, would sadly reflect on the dire power condition of Ethiopia, once called the water tower of Africa.

    The urgency of the need to address the power shortage is felt across the wide spectrum of the economy. Just to mention a few, production interruption in the existing factories, power request by new investors being turned down, households putting up with frequent power outages and shading, households depending on charcoal or Kerosene(even this has become expensive these days) for cooking instead of electricity. Moreover, we should carefully consider the effect of carbon monoxide on the health of the people. It has been proved that using charcoal or kerosene for home cooking is detrimental to health.

    As a result of using charcoal for cooking, our forests are disappearing, not to mention the effect of such on the climatic conditions. The need to build the Great Ethiopian Renaissance dam, no mater what the obstacles are, cannot be overemphasized.

    I believe it is time we all Ethiopians should work together for the realization of the project. As one religious leader rightly put it, “excepting the fetus in the womb of a prospective mother, or the deceased whose abode is the cemetery, all Ethiopian should make their contribution towards this grand project”.

    Reply
  • seyoum777
    seyoum777

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    Hear, O, Heaven and Listen, O, Earth. The cry of black Africans, the groaning of multitudes, the wailing of the wretched pierced the cloudy chatters of the skies and reached the Judgment Seat of The Holy One of Israel.

    I see at the horizon a season of rejoicing and a time for a new song for Black Africa. Mother Africa your time is at hand, rise up and shine.

    Reply
  • seyoum777
    seyoum777

    Nile dam project not negotiable, says Ethiopia ahead of Egyptian PM Visit
    To> Wolloyewe

    I want to draw your attention to one pivotal fact which you seem to deliberately ignore. After the ruling party, EPRDF of which Mr. Melese Zenawi is the chairperson, won the May-2010 election, the government came up with a Five Year Growth and Transformation Plan and forwarded it to various sections of the society for discussion. Being part of the public I had a chance to examine and comment on the feasibility and the subsequent implementation of the plan. This was months before the North African and Arab uprising starts.

    The five year developmental plan among other things envisages that during coming five years the existing hydro power production capacity of the country , i.e. 2000 mega watt, is expected to grow to 10000 megawatt. Therefore, the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is an integral part of this five year plan. Not a fanciful idea concocted overnight to divert public attention as Mr. Woleyew would like us believe. Hence, the whole idea of building the dam has nothing to do with the Arab uprising.

    We have had enough uprisings in the sub-Saharan Africa. You and me know very well who benefited from such protracted civil strifes in the continent of Africa in general.

    Ethiopia is a confederation of many nations and nationalities. Christians and Muslim coexisted in harmony for centuries.This does not mean that our enemies haves not tried to divide us along ethnic and religious lines, but in vain.

    The Ethiopian peoples have spoken and acted in unison to build the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. We rally around this noble cause and put the final nail on the coffin of backwardness.

    May God Bless our Prime Minster Melese Zenawi. Mr. Prime Minister, keep up the good works, You shall be called the Father of The Great Ethiopian Renaissance.

    Reply
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