/ 23 May 2010

Crisis as East African states battle over control of Nile

East African states are struggling to contain an escalating crisis over control of the waters of the river Nile.

The nine countries through which the world’s longest river flows have long been at loggerheads over access to the vital waters, which the British colonial powers effectively handed wholesale to Egypt in a 1929 agreement.

Egypt has always insisted on jealously guarding its historic rights to the 55,5-billion cubic metres of water that it takes from the river each year and has vetoed neighbouring countries’ rights to build dams or irrigation projects downstream which might affect the river’s flow. But last week Kenya became the fifth of the nine nations to sign a new treaty that would give other states greater access. Egypt currently has a right to almost 80% of the water, while Sudan has 11% and the other seven share the rest.

The Kenyan prime minister, Raila Odinga, arrived in Cairo for talks on Friday night, while Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is due to fly in on Tuesday.

Egypt has reacted furiously to the new agreement, claiming the loss of water from the river most closely associated with the country would be a catastrophe for its 80-million population, most of whom live along its banks.

Analysts have long warned that Africa’s dwindling water resources are a catalyst for conflict, and water disputes are already creating huge tensions. Four Nile basin states — Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda — gathered in Uganda on May 14 to sign the new document, which has been rejected by both Egypt and Sudan. Eritrea is overseeing the process.

The Kenyan minister of water resources, Charity Ngilu, signed the treaty last Thursday in Nairobi. Congo was expected to sign at some point this weekend and Burundi, the source of the north-flowing Nile, will make a decision after its June 28 presidential election. At the Nairobi signing Ngilu urged Egypt and Sudan to join the agreement, saying they had “no choice”. She described the 1929 treaty as “obsolete and timeworn,” saying that it was ratified by Egypt and Britain during the colonial era and signed on behalf of occupied African countries that were not consulted. There have also been strong words from the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, who hit out at Egypt’s increasingly isolated position.

The British Foreign Office said it was following developments closely but would not be intervening in the row. It urged the parties to continue discussions with a view to “reaching an amicable solution and continuing co-operation on the Nile basin”. – guardian.co.uk