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It has been nine years since Ethiopia began building the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) just to minimize the domestic workload of women by lighting firewood for cooking, to help children stop using candles or oil lamps as you read, to address electricity for your citizens correctly. And the country is also negotiating with neighboring countries on the fair benefit of GERD for several years.
Years of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan with a variety of mediators, including the administration of US President Trump, have failed to produce a solution. The two downstream nations, Egypt and Sudan, have repeatedly insisted that Ethiopia should not start filling the reservoir without reaching an agreement first.
Currently, the African Union is conducting the tripartite negotiation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. The AU’s involvement in the GERD dispute was precipitated by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bold decision to engage the AU as a facilitator of the talks in the spirit of finding ‘African solutions to Africa’s problems’.
US President Donald Trump expressed his anger at Ethiopia last Friday for the construction of a huge dam on the Nile River and appeared to suggest that Egypt could destroy it. Trump made the remarks when announcing a major normalization agreement between US ally Israel and Sudan, which, like Egypt, fears Ethiopia will deplete scarce water resources.
Following his belligerent threat against Ethiopia, different national and international offices, individuals, academics and citizens across the country have criticized the president’s speech. On the contrary, Ethiopians comment that their threat will provide a good opportunity to show Ethiopians’ unity.
Mekonen Abera, a sociologist, told The Ethiopian Herald that Ethiopians have no historical record of being frustrated by any external threat. “We all know how to respect others, how to do diplomacy with other countries, how to solve problems, and even how to win over our enemies including poverty. Therefore, nothing ever frustrates us to continue on our way to avoid our poverty in terms of completing the construction of the dam, “he said.
In fact, the president’s unlimited and irresponsible statement brought a great advantage over societies despite its slight negative impact. First, it shows how Ethiopia is becoming an influential country around the world. This adds pride to Ethiopian citizens.
Second, the statement helps Ethiopian communities to observe the construction of the GERD, as they all know the indispensable advantage of the dam. Currently, all local media (broadcast, print and social), individuals and groups in all corners of the country are criticizing the president’s statement suggesting that Egypt tear down the dam. Therefore, the president has set a common agenda for Ethiopians to discuss together.
Taking the above advantages, the technical committees of the Ethiopian Negotiating Delegation, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government should strengthen their stance on Ethiopia’s sovereignty and national interest. In addition to this, the president’s statement will create a negative effect on negotiators to influence Ethiopia.
Due to the fact that the GERD offers a critical opportunity to lift millions of citizens out of poverty, every Ethiopian citizen should continue to contribute by buying bonds and donating cash, Mekonen suggested.
“Our ancestors defended themselves from external enemies and kept our sovereignty at all. And now we are on the right path to fight and win poverty. So at this point nothing will ever frustrate us to achieve our goal, which is construction. of the GERD. willing to pay any sacrifice with respect to the completion of the dam, “said Taye Mulugeta, a resident of Addis Ababa.
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As for him, the president’s statement made last week lacks respect and diplomatic approach. As Adwa has been an icon of Ethiopia’s anti-colonization struggle, we must complete the GERD as another icon of inspiration and hope for all oppressed people.
He further said that no factor will reduce the nation’s motivation and inspiration to complete the construction of the dam. If the government is committed to the issue, no force on the face of the earth will stop the completion of the dam and the people of Ethiopia are always by their side on the national issue, he noted.
Ultimately, Ethiopia must increase its power generation capacity with the aspiration of transforming its agrarian economy into an industrial one. Therefore, the government and society must work collaboratively to carry out GERD in parallel with forgetting external threats, they agreed.
