ESAN NES POSITION STATEMENT ON GERD

Background

The Ethiopian Scientific and Academic Network (ESAN) and the Network of Ethiopian Scholars(NES) together are calling all the Nile Basin Riparian States to collaborate to make sure the filling of the dam in this rainy season time in Ethiopia is no more delayed.  The filling has to be done  starting  by early next week. The  negotiation that the African Union  has agreed to lead and the three states  Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are continuing should bring a final agreement.   The filling should go on and we call upon all  engaged in the negotiation process to facilitate the timely filling of the dam to not lose the opportunity  by missing the rainy season now. 

Specific Appeal to all for an earliest possible completion of GERD

1. The GERD has been delayed now for three years, all the riparian countries have to agree to facilitate the earliest completion making it the largest mega dam project to serve as a model for the 10 mega projects that are  in the process of being built  at present in different parts of  Africa.

2. The filling of the dam does not create any water consumption that  is a risk to any of the upstream or downstream countries. Egypt continues to claim the GERD will make them lose water. This is not  a scientifically evidence-based assertion.  It is a political  claim which should not continue to be used to prevent the earliest completion of the GERD.
3. What the Riparian countries should do is agree to create a strong collaborative  research team how to discover ways to make Lake Tana to remove the embotch weeds to promote the healthy functioning of  the Tana water ecosystem by removing the water hyacinth infection and the biodiversity risk.Research on irrigation, evaporation, drought and flood  should be done to make sure that the water gain and water loss is systematically and scientifically  managed. 
4. The GERD   has no negative effect  on Egypt  and Sudan and it brings enormous hydro-electric benefit. The opportunity of clean water provision exists  in the dry season  by saving and purifying the water also in the winter season or when flooding takes place.
5. Egypt should have been giving  the leading support to the earliest possible construction of the GERD and not keep  agreeing to a deal like the 2015 Declaration of Principles and break the deal by  outsourcing  the case by trying to find support from external actors  outside Africa. Egypt should offer Ethiopia to get compensation for all the Nile River water it has been using for a long time by learning from the example of  the mutually beneficial  sharing of South Africa with  Lesotho. South Africa gives annually $50 million dollars to Lesotho.
6. The Egyptian  zigzag from deal to deal  makes it difficult to believe that any deal with Egypt will  be  implemented without again and again Egypt signing and failing to implement what it keeps signing. This is a long time from 2011 to 2020 for the GERD; Egypt must now make the  final agreement so that the GERD is done and completed. Every year the GERD is delayed costs Ethiopia over a billion dollars and this is not  acceptable as it is fully unfair and unjust. The agreement done in the 2015 Declarations of Principles must be implemented to complete GERD without  incurring needless costs to Ethiopia anymore.
7. The GERD   will  bring  electricity and pure water provision not only for Ethiopia but also for the region as a whole and it can be promoted as a resource to bring tangible regional integration that has not been realized yet.  

8. GERD  is a development project that addresses the energy needs of Ethiopia and the rest of  Africa.  Over 200 million people that mostly are residing in the rural areas will benefit. All the youth  who mostly reside in rural areas will benefit .  

9. The environmental impact of GERD is huge.   The main house hold fuel in most parts of  Ethiopia is firewood.  The GERD will allow the reduction of Ethiopia’s carbon  heavy diet and will  reduce  climate change risk hazards, footprint and disasters for the all the riparian states and Africa as a whole. 
10. The world is now in the 4th industrial revolution with all countries leap frogging to the digital  knowledge economy. The GERD is critically necessary to create the full provision of electricity to make sure all the young people can have internet of things, access to on line webinar and zoom learning. At this time of the corona virus the  education of the youth  is very much affected. Electricity for them is as essential as food and water to make sure they engage in education and learning at home or when the chance exists by going to school. The provision of electricity and clean water must never be delayed by the political shenanigans  that  continues to prevent the completion of  the GERD.

Concluding Remarks

 ESAN is committed to work with sister organizations dedicated to advancement of young people in education. We support the government of Ethiopia in advancing the causes of development in Ethiopia and the region and the full development of GERD as the lighthouse for the African regions.   GERD can benefit the downstream and upstream countries by accessing cheap electricity. Research shows that a delay by five years will cost Ethiopia and the region 50 billion dollars,  that can be used to develop schools, universities and industries to  generate employment for thousands of people.  We encourage all parties to work together and fill the GERD without any further delay.

Both ESAN and NES are  networks with the involvement of thousands of students, professionals and academics dedicated to the advancement of science and the promotion of young people to advance their careers in STEM. They are engaged in supporting schools, universities in securing resources and talent to enhance the academic and intellectual environment.  Ethiopian schools and universities are making great progress despite the limitations to access electric power to conduct their classes.  Electricity is rationed. Schools in major towns and universities get access effectively three days per work week.  The situation in rural schools  without electricity impacts on education negatively and severely. More than 90% of the rural schools in Ethiopia have no access to electricity.  This situation is limiting the advancement of  Ethiopian young people specially those in rural areas.  The development of electricity in Ethiopia  can transform the  social, economic, health, environmental and educational spheres in Ethiopia with spillover effects in the downstream and upstream riparian economies very well. 

 ESAN and NES  are committed to work with sister organizations dedicated to advancement of young people in education. We encourage Egypt and Sudan to support the Government  and the people of Ethiopia who are solely  paying to build the dam  as  the Ethiopian people  complement the Government for  leading all  diverse actors by doing the  hard work with dedication to complete the GERD soonest. 

ESAN and NES Congratulate the government of Ethiopia for working  always by  advancing the causes of development in Ethiopia and the region to make GERD, as the true  and radiant  lighthouse for  the  riparian  states and  the rest of Africa as a whole.   GERD will surely benefit the downstream and upstream countries by accessing cheap electricity.  The decision   to fill the dam from July 6, 2020 as the Ethiopian Government has agreed  should be done without any more further costly delay once and for all.  We call all the countries of the Nile Valley to join and support Ethiopia and finish the construction of the dam to make it as the model for all future mega dams not only for the region but also  for the rest of Africa and the world.

ESAN ( esannet.com) & NES (www.nesglobal.org)