Egypt may soon lose
control over Nile waters
There�s a major thoroughfare in Cairo, which has a median that�s awash with grass and shrubs. City beautification and social forestry are in vogue. But this median has in-built sprinklers. Not all Nile River water goes to growing cotton, wheat and tomatoes in Egypt.
Egypt has been getting some heat in East Africa over the use of the river lately. Some Kenyan and Ugandan parliamentarians had impossible and possible proposals. They included selling Nile water to Egypt, impossible, and disregarding two treaties, possible. Tanzania did what it wanted and damned Egypt.
The treaties are causing an argument between countries 6,000 kilometres apart. One treaty was between Egypt and Britain in 1929. The other was a refinement of the earlier one in 1959 between Egypt and Sudan. Both treaties gave Egypt control over the usage of Nile River water. It�s unjust.
According to the 1929 pact, territories under British control weren�t to engage in activities that would lower the flow of Nile water to Egypt. Somebody in Whitehall bungled the job. Even if Britain were to retain control of East Africa in perpetuity, the agreement was stupid.
Trouble is there was territory where Nile tributaries originate from not under British control. They are Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, which included Eritrea. Lawyers can argue forever. Only imbeciles can buy the logic the treaty includes these countries.
Countries that were under British control, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, have a different argument. British authority evaporated decades ago. The basis of that authority, colonialism, was discredited. So was the treaty.
It isn�t that simple for the countries in each of the above categories. It happens that rivers which pass through many countries like the Nile, the longest in the world, claim many citizenships.
According to the 1959 treaty, Sudan and Egypt simply shared the Nile water between themselves, with Egypt getting the lion�s share. There was arrogance galore. They said if any of the other Nile River basin states claim water, Sudan and Egypt would study the claim. If they deemed it valid, that state would get some water.
That�s where Tanzania comes in. The geography of the Nile River is simple. Rivers empty into Lake Victoria and head north as White Nile. Along the way others join. The largest is the Blue Nile from Ethiopia at Khartoum. Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda have a few rivers that empty into their Lake Victoria.
What Tanzania has done is simply decide to pump water from the lake to Kahama and Shinyanga region. In short, Tanzanians aren�t going to go thirsty because two countries grabbed a whole river and one of them has the impudence to irrigate a highway.
Ironically, the flow from Lake Victoria is a mere 14 percent of the Nile river water. It happens to be steady, though. The rest of the flow comes from Ethiopian highlands. But each year the Blue Nile surges, sometimes with so much fury, it swamps Khartoum.
Egyptians have what might be called a Nile mania. They sabre rattle every time someone dips a bucket into the Nile. It�s understandable. Without the Nile, there�ll be no Egypt. Greek historian Herodotus recognized that four centuries before Christ.
Of all countries with an interest in Nile river water, no country has borne the brunt of Egypt�s Nile River water aggression than Sudan and Ethiopia. Thanks to the British, Sudan was awarded with a share of Nile River water. Not so Ethiopia.
In the second half of 1800s Egypt waged futile wars against Ethiopia to control the Blue Nile. In more recent times, Cairo has engaged in all kinds of machinations to ensure Ethiopia doesn�t utilise the Blue Nile. There aren�t any hydroelectric plants on the river. Irrigation is minimal.
That every nation through which a river passes has claims on it is internationally recognized. The Danube, for example, flows through 11 countries before entering the Black Sea. A convention stipulates rights and obligations of each nation.
In South America, there is the Amazon River. It flows through eight nations and pours into the Atlantic Ocean. The countries have a treaty. One of the it�s objectives is to "permit an equitable distribution of the benefits".
It�s not internationally recognised that one nation should call the shots in regard to a cross-border river. Egypt had better get that. An agreement on how all nations in the Nile River Basin can benefit from the river is overdue.
Egypt has 70 million souls, thanks to the Nile. The number is increasing. A collective Tanzanian way upstream, a preferable option considering Cairo�s intransigence, can only harm Egypt. In the meantime, Egyptians had better stop breeding like rabbits. Calling shots over Nile River water is headed to the history books.
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Mr Mbitiru, a freelance journalist, is a former 'Sunday Nation' Managing editor.
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