Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten),Biafra, Mbarara, Western Uganda.
UGANDA and other member countries of the Nile Basin are opposing the new treaty to give Egypt and Sudan the right to consent to use the Nile waters (see “River Nile treaty talks hit deadlock,” the lead story of The New Vision, November 10, 2008.
This situation needs delicate handling to ensure that the 10 years that the Nile Basin Initiative has spent negotiating about ‘The Nile Cooperation Framework’ a new agreement to replace the 1929 agreement - does not end up in a conflict.
The 1929 law includes an agreement on the amount of water released to the upper Nile countries. Of course it is not healthy for Egypt and Sudan to own the Nile water as the 1929 agreement and the 1954 treaty stipulate. God gave the Nile water to all of us to use and no one will stop another from utilising it.
Now that Egypt and Sudan insist on maintaining the control of the Nile water, which is their source of livelihood - unlike us - then let it be, for the sake of maintaining harmony, cooperation and preservation of the world’s longest river. One of the fears among other member states is that they would first seek consent from Egypt and Sudan before doing any development project on River Nile.
Why should we fear to seek approval from other countries sharing the river before we construct power dams and irrigation schemes? In any organisation or company, the shareholders or beneficiaries meet to agree on the developments or change of operations.
A commissioner in Uganda's ministry of water, Dr. Callist Tindimugaya suggests, the member countries should continue cooperating, pending the resolution of the contentious clause.
UGANDA and other member countries of the Nile Basin are opposing the new treaty to give Egypt and Sudan the right to consent to use the Nile waters (see “River Nile treaty talks hit deadlock,” the lead story of The New Vision, November 10, 2008.
This situation needs delicate handling to ensure that the 10 years that the Nile Basin Initiative has spent negotiating about ‘The Nile Cooperation Framework’ a new agreement to replace the 1929 agreement - does not end up in a conflict.
The 1929 law includes an agreement on the amount of water released to the upper Nile countries. Of course it is not healthy for Egypt and Sudan to own the Nile water as the 1929 agreement and the 1954 treaty stipulate. God gave the Nile water to all of us to use and no one will stop another from utilising it.
Now that Egypt and Sudan insist on maintaining the control of the Nile water, which is their source of livelihood - unlike us - then let it be, for the sake of maintaining harmony, cooperation and preservation of the world’s longest river. One of the fears among other member states is that they would first seek consent from Egypt and Sudan before doing any development project on River Nile.
Why should we fear to seek approval from other countries sharing the river before we construct power dams and irrigation schemes? In any organisation or company, the shareholders or beneficiaries meet to agree on the developments or change of operations.
A commissioner in Uganda's ministry of water, Dr. Callist Tindimugaya suggests, the member countries should continue cooperating, pending the resolution of the contentious clause.
This would be a good way forward but it will not always work. For how long shall the resolutions keeps pending? Worse still, Uganda’s stand of stopping the sharing of water data with Egypt is disastrous. I suggest that Uganda should revise her stand on this issue.
Most conflicts across the globe have always originated from lack of accountability and transparency – the two roadblocks to development. According to Tindimugaya, Egyptian officials who have been obtaining data at Nalubaale and Kiira power stations have been stopped from accessing it!
This is not proper since Egyptians were accessing that data under the colonial agreement of 1929 and 1954. And these riparian laws (that guide situations taking place along or near the bank of a river) are not yet changed. Dr. Tindimugaya says they have stopped the Egyptians from accessing their data because Egyptians do not share with us data on the way they are using the Nile water in Egypt.
Two wrongs cannot make a right. Let’s be accountable to them and set an example of transparency and accountability other than breeding unnecessary conflict. Gone are the days when wars would emanate from the oil-sharing disagreements. Now the interest has shifted to water-sharing and ownership, for water is becoming a scarce resource over environmental negligence and degradation.
It was worrying when Uganda’s water minister, Jenipher Namuyangu was quoted in the press saying that, “If the agreement is not signed, each member country in the Nile Basin Initiative will have to work alone to address its own challenges!’ Which challenges are those?
However, if this implies that any country should work along in exploiting the Nile water, then that will subject the 4,180-mile River Nile to degradation and over-exploitation. The use of River Nile should be regulated and monitored by all member countries for conservation purposes.
Believe me, if each individual country uses the Nile without regulation, there will be selfish countries that shall exploit the Nile thus putting the lives of about 300 million dependants at risk. Environment is a crosscutting entity that requires regional cooperation and commitment; and River Nile, which crosses many countries, is no exception.
This is my appeal to all member states under the Nile Basin Initiative: Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Eritrea, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Uganda. In order to ensure regional conservation, they should avoid conflict of interest and open up their files to ensure transparency and accountability for the benefit of River Nile, environment and all of us residing in the member states sharing the Nile water. Think about it!
Ends.
Most conflicts across the globe have always originated from lack of accountability and transparency – the two roadblocks to development. According to Tindimugaya, Egyptian officials who have been obtaining data at Nalubaale and Kiira power stations have been stopped from accessing it!
This is not proper since Egyptians were accessing that data under the colonial agreement of 1929 and 1954. And these riparian laws (that guide situations taking place along or near the bank of a river) are not yet changed. Dr. Tindimugaya says they have stopped the Egyptians from accessing their data because Egyptians do not share with us data on the way they are using the Nile water in Egypt.
Two wrongs cannot make a right. Let’s be accountable to them and set an example of transparency and accountability other than breeding unnecessary conflict. Gone are the days when wars would emanate from the oil-sharing disagreements. Now the interest has shifted to water-sharing and ownership, for water is becoming a scarce resource over environmental negligence and degradation.
It was worrying when Uganda’s water minister, Jenipher Namuyangu was quoted in the press saying that, “If the agreement is not signed, each member country in the Nile Basin Initiative will have to work alone to address its own challenges!’ Which challenges are those?
However, if this implies that any country should work along in exploiting the Nile water, then that will subject the 4,180-mile River Nile to degradation and over-exploitation. The use of River Nile should be regulated and monitored by all member countries for conservation purposes.
Believe me, if each individual country uses the Nile without regulation, there will be selfish countries that shall exploit the Nile thus putting the lives of about 300 million dependants at risk. Environment is a crosscutting entity that requires regional cooperation and commitment; and River Nile, which crosses many countries, is no exception.
This is my appeal to all member states under the Nile Basin Initiative: Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Eritrea, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Uganda. In order to ensure regional conservation, they should avoid conflict of interest and open up their files to ensure transparency and accountability for the benefit of River Nile, environment and all of us residing in the member states sharing the Nile water. Think about it!
Ends.
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