THE WAR ALONG RIVER NILE

Feels like there’s an accident waiting to happen following the threat by Egypt to open a diplomatic war between her and the Nile basin states. Now whatever basis the British treaty was drawn on, it gives Egypt a veto on all Nile related waters, which to me as a Kenyan is obnoxious and so old fashioned. It feels a bit awkward to still maintain the pre-independent treaties… What happened to change? Now water bodies from a country like Ethiopia contributes to approximately 80% of the Nile water but for them to use River Nile waters for simple irrigation, they have to get permission from Egypt. This is unsettling to me.

I know as third world country modern colonization is common but in this age and time it shouldn’t be so “in your face”, I don’t expect institutions like the world bank to take sides. I read that Egypt is threatening to talk donors out of financing the project currently running along River Nile and according to statement issued by the 12 development partners convening under a trust fund hosted by the World Bank, there seems to favoritism towards Egypt and Sudan against the other seven countries.

Read the reaction by world bank on the meeting held by Nile Council of Ministers (Nile CoM) in Kinshasa… “We are very concerned that outcomes of your meeting may result in some countries, without others, moving forward with an agreement and a Commission. Our experience of providing support in other river basins suggests that this will not deliver the scale of economic and security benefits and reductions of future risks that basin-wide co-operation will yield.” I'm curious to know the details of the so called “economic and security benefits”…

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