EDITORIAL: FIND EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO ETHIOPIA’S DAM CLASH
Reports that the latest round of talks involving Egypt and the Sudan on the one hand, and Ethiopia on the other, have “made no progress” on the latter’s controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project are most disconcerting indeed.
While Ethiopia says GERD is “key to its socioeconomic development,” Egypt fears that the dam will imperil its water supply from River Nile, which Ethiopia also considers essential to the functioning of GERD. For its part, Sudan is much concerned about GERD’s safety and water flows through its own dams and water stations.
Construction of the $4.7 billion GERD on the Blue Nile tributary of the Nile commenced in April 2011, and was completed in July 2017 with a reservoir capacity of 74 billion cubic metres.
About 85 percent of the Nile runs through Ethiopia, while Egypt down-river depends on the Nile for 97 percent of its water needs.
Although Sudan and Egypt stood to benefit from the GERD project by facilitating flood and sediment control, irrigation and navigation, this view changed when Ethiopia started to fill the dam with the waters of the Nile, at 6,650km/4,130m, arguably the world’s longest river, whose drainage basin covers 11 African countries, including Tanzania.
GERD negotiations involving the three countries begun, seeking a solution to the controversy – the latest being the Kinshasa meeting hosted by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, the current African Union Chairman.
After the Kinshasa stalemate, Ethiopia said it would continue to fill the dam this rainy season – which, the Sudan said, “threatens the peoples of the Nile Basin, and Sudan directly”… and “will consider all options to protect itself.”
Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the region faces “unimaginable stability” – and “Nobody will be permitted to take a single drop of Egypt’s water!”
Clearly, a clash here is imminent, as none of the trio is willing/ready to give ground on GERD... And Africa will ultimately have to pay for the intransigence of the three nations.
GET IT DONE, SIMBA!
Tanzania’s representatives in the Caf Champions League, Simba Sports club, have qualified into the quarterfinals scheduled to start next month.
The first-leg quarterfinal matches are slated for May 14 and 15 this year, with the return-leg matches being played on May 21 and 22.
Winners thereof will qualify for the semifinals, whose first-leg matches will be played on June 18 and 19, with the return-leg matches being played on June 25 and 26.
The final match is slated for July 17 at a venue to be named later.
The competition features seven other clubs which did well in the Groups stage, which ends tomorrow.
Simba and defending champions Al Ahly qualified from Group A, in which Simba topped the Group and Al Ahly finished second.
Simba qualified into the quarterfinals for the third time since 2003, and now have the chance to enhance their international soccer record by reaching the semifinals – and even winning the Championship which was launched in 1998.
The Msimbazi Street soccer maestros are representing the East and Central Africa (Cecafa) Zone in the competition, and winning the Caf Championship this year will put a feather in our cap.
Indeed, a win by Simba will mean so much for Tanzanian, Regional and Continental football. So, we say GET IT DONE, Simba!
