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             "John Ashworth"                                              
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             07/01/2007 08:50          Fw: Egypt, Sudan against equitable  
             AM                        sharing of Nile water              

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Egypt, Sudan against equitable sharing of Nile water
Saturday 30 June 2007 04:30.

June 29, 2007 (NAIROBI) -- Egypt and Sudan have failed to agree with
other countries on equitable sharing of the Nile River basin waters.

But the ten States sharing the water resource have finally come up
with a new framework that allows equitable development and use of the
basin.

This comes after final negotiations in Entebbe, Uganda, earlier this week.

The negotiation committee agreed on all 39 articles of a proposed new
treaty, except part (b) of Article 14 on water security, which Sudan
and Egypt want changed.

The negotiations, which have gone on for over a decade, saw the States
overcome a stalemate on previous arrangements made during colonial
days.

The arrangements gave veto powers to some countries to regulate any
usage of the Nile River waters, Nairobi based the Standard reported.

"The current agreements are considered lopsided and do not provide the
requisite level field" said Mr Mutua Katuku, the Water and Irrigation
minister.

Egypt and Sudan hold absolute rights to use 100 per cent of the
river's water under agreements reached in 1929 between Egypt and
Britain and in 1959 between Egypt and Sudan.

Kenya, however, does not recognize these treaties.

Since Egypt must consent to other nations' use of the Nile water, most
of the other basin countries have not developed projects that use it
extensively.

"If the water resources are protected, there will be more than enough
water for us and Egypt", said Mr Adan Ahmed Sugow, the Assistant
minister for Water and Irrigation.

The new agreement provides a level playing-field that allows
mobilisation of the shared water resource for development in the
involved states.

About 50 per cent of the country's population relies entirely on the
waters of the upper Nile River Basin.

This makes the use of the basin indispensable in developing
agriculture, hydropower and domestic use.

The framework also establishes the Nile River Basin Commission that
shall act as a forum for cooperation and a clearinghouse.

The organs of the commission shall include a conference of Heads of
State, a Council of Ministers and a Technical Advisory Committee.

The cooperative framework is to be presented to the governments for
consideration and ratification.

(The Standard)

END
--
John Ashworth
ashworth.j...@gmail.com

+27 82 853 3556 (cellphone - international roaming)
PO Box 60413, Karenpark 0118, South Africa
086 616 3523 (fax - domestic South Africa only)
+254 725 926 297 (when I'm in Kenya/Uganda only)
+88 216 4333 3401 (satphone - usually when I'm in Sudan)

Denis Hurley Peace Institute
PO Box 4000, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
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