Nile 'ownership' talks start

2004-03-09 08:37

Entebbe - Experts from 10 African countries began talks in Uganda on Monday to plan how to share the waters of the Nile river.

All member states of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) - Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda - were represented at the talks, held in the Ugandan town of Entebbe, which lies on Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile.

"Everybody is putting his interest on the table. It's a breakthrough for the Initiative," said NBI executive secretary Meraji Msuya.

"The committee (of experts) was set up in December 2003 and will study controversial historical treaties on the usage of Nile waters and recommend whether they should be declared null and void and what new arrangement will be put in place," Msuya said.

Basin states

Egypt clings to treaties signed with Britain in 1929 and 1959, which restricts other basin states, many of which were then British colonies, from undertaking projects that reduce the volume of water flowing to Egypt.

When he was president of Tanzania, the late Julius Nyerere declared that all such treaties were nullified by independence.

Tanzania has has embarked on a $27.6m dollar project to draw significant volumes of water from Lake Victoria, prompting threats from Egypt.

Kenya has said it would similarly start using Lake Victoria's waters.

Legal experts say there is no law binding all the 10 countries and that the current negotiating process is an attempt to draw up an all-inclusive document acceptable to all members.

The most virulent positions are between Egypt and Ethiopia, whose economies are largely dependent on the Nile.

Egypt's attempt to reclaim parts of its southern desert in the Toshka valley, which will mean exceeding its water quotas, has hardened positions in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Drought-prone Ethiopia wants to use the river for irrigation.

The NBI is due to meet at ministerial level in Nairobi later in March.

- SAPA