By Raymond Baguma and Joshua Masinde
(New Vision) KAMPALA, UGANDA — THE ten African countries that share the River Nile under the umbrella of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) should consider economic and political integration, an Ethiopian academic has suggested.
Dr. Tesfaye Tafesse from Addis Ababa University was presenting a paper on Benefit-sharing Framework in trans-boundary river basins during a stakeholder dialogue by the Nile Basin Discourse at Hotel Africana on Wednesday.
The countries that make up the Nile Basin are Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, DR. Congo, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda.
He said the Nile Basin is home to 160 million people living in the ten countries, of which four of the countries are water scarce.
“A number of benefits are potentially realisable. For instance, implementation of watershed management in Ethiopian Highlands will reduce silting in Sudan,” said Tafesse.
He said the Nile which flows through arid countries of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, has often been a source of tension with countries such as Uganda, which are located upstream of the river.
He said that regional integration could bring about mutual dependency between the Nile Basin countries.
The NBI was established in 1999 to address water conflicts in the region, reduce poverty and promote economic integration.
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I am sure the man will soon find out TPLF has given full right of Nile to Egypt, so what is the point of another round of meetings and conferences as the greedy egyptians won't allow that.
God help us all
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:51 am
Elias, another brilliant subject! Yes, if the horn of Africa has to move to the 21st century they must come to gether and work together, trade knowledge, skills/tools, and respect for each other. These region had been suffered for quite too long at the hands of wrong leaders; leaders who betrayed their own people, country, neighbor, community, and above all trust to become an instrument of the west for just a few handouts. The enemity between the brothers and sisters horn must stop at the door step of Addis because as it looks that is where all the immoral leaders of Africa are gathering and must be awaken and smell reality; NOT ABUSE THE BEAUTIFUL ETHIOPIAN GIRLS AND BOYS BUT WORK FOR THE GOOD OF YOUR OWN PEOPLE.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:49 am
NBI will not bring anything to that mentionedd 160million people. It is good to see some individuals are trying to suggest what they think is good for the poors. But NBI- can they mention more than a meeting and confrence???
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
I wonder for how many years we have to be abided by the old colonial power (England's) treaty. The treaty gives Egypt a sole ownership of the Nile. It is a taboo for any other country to touch a drip of water from the Nile. What I can't understand is why we honor treaties signed with illegal rulers (the conolizers). For any kind of issue such as boundries, we refer to the colonizers treaty. We should throw out and forget any thing which remind us those dark days of colonization.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
How come Eritrea is a member of the Nile Basin countries? Is my knowledge of the area outdated?
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Sith belew (Comment #5)
Apparently you either forgot the area as you suggested; or geography may not have been your forte. however, For your information, the Gash/Setit river joins the blue nile under the name of Atbara river as the Sudanese call it. Hope this helps.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Speaking ones mind is Ok.But let's try to be realistic.Among the so called Nile Basin countries mentioned, Egypt,the darling of the West, receives about 2 billion grant money (in us $)from Uncle Sam every yr.for reasons you know as well as I do.Do not expect that the other nine could have a smoose ride if they try to push hard for their rights.Do not forget also that Egypt's immediate southern neighbour would dissociate it's self from it's northern brothern.Among the remaining eight also may be one or two will have openions of their own.In a situation like this, the best option will be for individual countries to exploit as much as possible what nature offers.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:08 pm