Kenya joins four states in signing new Nile treaty

By Martin Mutua

The Government has signed a new treaty that overturns the historic water sharing arrangements of River Nile.

Water and Irrigation Minister Charity Ngilu signed the new pact known as the Nile Basin Agreement with four other countries from the region and dismissed the opposition by Egypt to the new deal.

After more than a decade of talks driven by anger over the perceived injustice of the previous Nile water treaty signed in 1929, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda signed the deal last week, a move Egypt promptly challenged.

And Mrs Ngilu Wednesday joined the other four countries in bringing Kenya on board, leaving Egypt and Sudan isolated.

"That treaty (of 1929) is obsolete. Nothing stops us from using the water as we wish. It is now up to Egyptian authorities to come on board if they wish to," Ngilu told a news conference at her Maji House office, yesterday

The previous treaty gave Egypt the right to veto upstream projects it thinks could interfere with the flow of the Nile, which stretches more than 6,600km from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt, almost totally dependent on the Nile and already threatened by climate change, is closely watching hydroelectric dams in East Africa.

The river is a vital water and energy source for all nine countries through which it flows.

Ngilu pointed out that the agreement was as result of intense negotiations that had been carried out since 1997 to come up with an agreement that would be acceptable to all.

Partner states

"Such an agreement would forestall the rights of the riparian states to use the shared water resources of the River Nile system in an equitable and reasonable manner without causing significant harm to other partner states," she added.

She pointed out that the new agreement would include a framework that would provide an overall vision of achieving sustainable socio-economic development through equitable use of and benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources.

"Under the framework, the River Nile Basin Commission shall be established to act as a forum for co-operation and a clearing house for the planned measures that could cause any harm to other riparian states," she added.

She noted that without co-operation from trans boundary water management groups, the Government is constrained in its efforts to attract funding to put in place large-scale investments. These investments include dams for hydropower generation, irrigation schemes and large scale water supply schemes.

"Kenya is therefore pleased today to join Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda who have already signed the agreement," she added.

Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo were expected to sign the deal soon, she added, and invited Sudan and Egypt to join them.

"Two states cannot stop us from implementing this agreement," she said.

While Ethiopia wants to tap its immense water resources, Kenya is keen to ramp up food production through creation of irrigation schemes in its Lake Basin. It also wants to supply piped water to more homes.

Some 85 per cent of the Nile’s waters originate from Ethiopia and the Lake Basin is estimated to harbour more than half of Kenya’s surface water resources.