የኢትዮጵያ ውኃ ጉዳዮች ምክር ቤት
August 30, 2020
Statement on Decision of the US Government to Halt Some Foreign Assistance Funding to Ethiopia Over Dam Dispute with Egypt, Sudan
It is with profound dismay that we learned of the decision of the US Government to halt some humanitarian foreign assistance to Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) https://foreignpolicy.com/
The Ethiopian Water Advisory Council (EWAC) is a non-political and non-partisan cluster of Ethiopian Americans and friends of Ethiopia that brings together scientists, academics, researchers, educators, practitioners, specialists in hydrology, development, atmospheric and climate sciences, engineering and information systems to help Ethiopia free itself from abject poverty, famine, ill health, and darkness by promoting cooperation and the equitable and sustainable use of water resources, most notably the Nile waters.
Ethiopia contributes 86 percent of the waters of the Nile; but has not benefited from this massive natural resource for centuries. The decision to halt aid to Ethiopia punishes the poor. By all human development indices, Ethiopia is way far behind Egypt. Halting aid to one of the poorest and least developed nations on the planet over a dam built by pennies collected from the poor is both immoral and unjust. This decision also undermines long-established and vibrant relations between the Ethiopian and American; emboldens jihadist and extremist forces; and diminishes Ethiopia’s capacity to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
Today, Egypt enjoys 100 percent access to electricity while 60 percent Ethiopians (70 million people) live in darkness; 84 percent of the Ethiopian population suffers from multidimensional poverty with yearly water consumption in Ethiopia at less than one eighth of Egypt. Ethiopia’s development is in the interest of the Horn, the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa and the global community. We, therefore, call upon the Government of the United States to release all development financing and urge it to continue promoting democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights in Ethiopia.
We also call upon:
- The Ethiopian Government to redouble its efforts and bring the dam to full operation and ensure optimal power generation capacity to enable recoup, in a reasonable period, investment in GERD, which was mobilized from all Ethiopians (most of them living below the poverty line).
- Egypt to immediately cease her hostilities and counterproductive global campaign against Ethiopia based on misinformation; instead, be respectful of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; take full cognizance of Ethiopia’s generosity and indefatigable effort to accommodate the legitimate concerns of riparian nations; resort to science and evidence based solutions in addressing challenges and utilize potential opportunities that would emanate from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD); and start using established African institutions to resolve any misunderstandings and conflicts that may arise.
- All member states of the African Union and affiliated organizations to support Ethiopia in bringing GERD to fruition and free the continent from the last vestiges of hegemonism and colonialism. The GERD is a joint African project, a key component of the Integrated African Power Pool, designed to achieve 100 percent African electrification set by Agenda 2063.
- The international community, including the U.N. Security Council, the European Union, the African Union, the Arab League, the U.S. Congress, foundations, major non-governmental organizations, the global media and others to be fully cognizant of Ethiopia’s legitimate and sovereign rights over its water resources, where close to half of Ethiopia’s population lives under endemic water scarcity (general and absolute) to: (i) contribute to the completion of GERD; and (ii) support the rehabilitation, restoration and development of the Blue Nile watershed.
- The Government of Ethiopia to seek damages from Egypt for lost lives and economic opportunities, shattered families and hopes, habitat destruction resulting from Egypt’s blockage of foreign assistance to upstream development projects since the 1959 Nile Treaty between Egypt and Sudan that excluded Ethiopia and granted veto power over development projects upstream.
- Ethiopian Americans to communicate with their respective representatives in the US Congress, the Government of the United States, and other American institutions to provide full information on GERD and support the Ethiopian Government to make GERD fully operational.
- The Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC use all possible communication channels and leverage the united voice of Ethiopian Americans to influence the US Government to unfreeze development assistance held by the Administration and restore the historically strong cordial and mutually respectful diplomatic, economic and cultural relations between Ethiopia and the United States of America.
Ethiopian Waters Advisory Council( EWAC) – Secretariat
Kone Feseha – Public Relations
