An Europe-based water institute official blamed Egypt for keeping an international report on Ethiopia’s mega dam classified. Dr. Ana Cascao of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said Cairo might have kept the final report of the Tripartite International Panel of Experts on Ethiopia’s $4 billion dam a secret in order to “divert attention from political revolutions” in Egypt and to portray a national security crisis.
The Tripartite International Panel of Experts included four Egyptian and Sudanese experts as well as four international experts. The committee addressed various concerns from all sides, and organized meetings and visits to the dam site before it submitted one final report with full consensus, signed by all members of the Panel.
The final report concluded that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) satisfied all international design criteria and safety standards. The report also said the dam has no impact on water flow downstream toward Egypt.
According to Dr. Cascao, various studies show that the GERD has benefits particularly for Sudan, as well as Egypt. She added that the Ethiopian dam “makes more water available for farm & irrigation in sudan, it reduces the problem of evaporation in Egyptian dams and it solves sediment and flood issues” that have reportedly cost millions for Sudan and Egypt.
Dr. Cascao is an author and the top independent expert on Nile Hydropolitics and Transboundary water resource management, on which subjects she did her PhD and researched on for half a decade.
Dr. Cascao claimed she was not surprised that Sudan is supporting Ethiopia, but “Egypt has to start reviewing its historical position.” The London-based Guardian newspaper also said “the greatest long-term concern for Egypt” might be Sudan’s intentions of increasing irrigation projects after the Ethiopian dam becomes operational. Dr. Cascao added that considering the dam’s numerous benefits for Sudan and Egypt, the two countries should actually “pay Ethiopia for the construction and maintenance of the dam.”
However, Egyptian government and its state media are propagating the message “we are under threat” and keeping positive facts about the Dam “a secret from the people of Egypt.” According to her, both Ethiopian and Egyptian governments are using the mega Dam as a diversion tool from domestic political issues and as a tactic to unify their divided people against perceived external threat.
I am an opposition of Ethiopian government, but I do not honestly see our government using the dam for politics. The dam is a public dam in Ethiopia because it is funded by the ordinary citizen. The government can not do anything about without the public funding. There is no need politicizing in Ethiopia. I think Egypt is being given undue right and attention. Ethiopia needs to tightened up Egypt neck and until it gets choked. We are tired of these people. We do not owe them anything. It is time the Ethiopian government tighten from all corners and leave Egypt in the cold with no right for any water. Egyptians are not better than Ethiopian. There is no water for drinking across Ethiopia. We have no obligation to give them our water at our own expense.
I think this expert has told egyptians the fact they know well but do not want to accept. But I am not agree with here last statement. Why ethiopia need political diversion?
I invite the experts or who is interested to read the IPoE report. It is uploaded on this link. http://www.internationalrivers.org
I would also be very grateful if you can give us the link to any report on the assessment of effects of Aswan High Dam on Nile river. If it is not going to concern us but only to Egyptians then we say GERD is our concern not yours, keep your distance!!!!threat others the way you would like to be treated.
It is a matter of understanding the politics the last statement is very much correct even the dead Pm also tries to take the credit even why not the late first lady. look your scope of evaluation should be upgraded the dam we come in to the picture during the areabe springs
if Egypt is hiding the report, why was it is published by Sudan or Ethiopia?!
Because all have signed that the report should be released only if all countries are agreed to make it public.
This falsifies the argument of the writer, then.
But I suspect Egypt hands over some of the excerpts to international rivers which objects to the GERD dam in Ethiopia, but failed to compare its positive impacts against the Aswan high dams, one of the greatest threat to the existence of the Nile river