Mekki Elmograbi The Sudanese Position on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Stop and Check. For sure, the Ethio-Sudanese relations is a model for African and third world countries but sometimes we need to stop and check; we need to look here and there to make sure that all odds have been brushed aside. One of the odd and weird statements that I have read in Sudanese media was said by Dr. Ahmed Almofti in an interview with Al-Intibaha Arabic daily, in which he said: Addis Ababa has some hidden purpose for setting up Renaissance Dam. In the interview, he also criticized the Ethiopian Ambassador Ato. Abadi Zemo in a way which is completely not representing Sudan and Sudanese people, it was really embarrassing for me to hear such false accusations against a person who is highly respected in Sudan not because he holds the title of Ambassador but because he is one of the best friends and brothers of Sudan and Sudanese people. Moreover, Abadi Zemo is one of the historical heroes of the liberation battles against Derg bloody regime in Ethiopia; Abadi is an icon of one of the greatest African revolutions. According to Al-Intibaha, Ahmed Al-Mufti claimed that The Ethiopian Ambassador also exercises strategic deception because he has no evidence to prove what he says. The Ethiopian Ambassador also fabricates lies About the Renaissance Dam. Really, I think that Dr. Al-Mufti must apologize and must make correction to his position. The Sudanese position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - GERD is very clear, actually it is based on scientific studies and the orientation of African regional cooperation. I have the honor to participate in AU Zero Hunger Summit in Addis Ababa in July 2013, and I made an interview with the Sudanese Agriculture and Irrigation Minister at that time, Dr. Abdelhalim Almutaafie. He said that Sudan supports the construction of the GERD; he also said that it is better to build dams in Ethiopia than in the Sudan or Egypt because of topographical reasons. “The level of evaporation in Sudan is higher than in Ethiopia for dam water reservoirs in Sudan and Egypt would be exposed to higher temperature from the environment and the sun as they would be in flat lands while in Ethiopia reservoirs are built in deep gorges”. Most of Sudanese experts and academicians publicized their opinions which were typical for the official position. I can remember the first big gathering on this issue in a symposium titled “Impact of GERD on Sudan sand Egypt that was organized by the International University of Africa in collaboration with the Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum. The Sudanese experts called for a tripartite supervision of the construction of the Dam and sharing the costs by the three states. From that time the tripartite dam technical committee established by Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt started its work in a very positive atmosphere but now the disputes started to appear again. What we need, is to involve in more negotiations between the three neighbors and to stop exchanging accusations because false accusations will damage the atmosphere of the negotiations.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 07:53:12 +0000