Ethiopia to trial GERD’selectricity generation Trump’s War mongering rhetoric won’t intimidate Ethiopia - Welcome

Close to 79 percent of the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been accomplished and the dam would conduct preliminary energy generating trial this year, according to GERD project management.

In connection with 10th anniversary of the commencement of the GERD , the GERD project Manager Kifle Horo said the Dam, which is 1,780 meters high and expected to generate 15,695 GWh annually, would start pre-operational energy generation pilot this year.

Kifle noted that over 91 percent of the civil works, 54 percent of hydro-steel structure and 53 percent of the electro-mechanical progresses have been completed.

“The dam is expected to reverse the long standing problem of low access to basic services due to shortage of energy supply the country has been encountering,” he said.

Kifle added that the dam can also serve for fishery, tourism, sediment trap, reduce evaporation, regulates fluctuation of water volume, energy uplift, and creating economic integration among African countries.

“Besides, the dam has environmental relevance by reducing the carbon emission by replacing thermal power plants.

The filling mechanism can be adjusted to seasonality and delay of filling during depending on hydrological condition of the year. ”

Preliminary energy generation trial and second dam filling are the two decisive momentous to be completed in 2021, it was learnt.

Engineer Sileshi Bekele (Ph.D), stressed that Ethiopia tributes about 77 billion cubic meter of water to the Nile river annually being Tekeze and Abay rivers the major contributors.

Sileshi added that Ethiopia as a landlocked country should make use of its domestic rivers to well exploit the water trade potential with a view to getting rid of rain-fed agriculture.

Prof. Yakob Arsano, on his part, stressed that Ethiopia resides the right to rule over its natural resource so long as it is in line with the international law.

The GERD is a developmental project to quench Ethiopia’s piled up electricity supply thirst and should not be perceived as a cause for conflict, he noted.

BY SOLOMON DIBABA
In his telephone conversation last Friday with the Prime Minister Abdella Hamdock of the Republic of Sudan, Donald Trump, the President of the USA made a statement that could seriously jeopardize the partnership between Ethiopia and the USA that have flourished for over 117 years. The statement in which the President talked about the possibility for Egypt to blow up GERD could have far reaching consequences that the President has failed to consider.
The timing of the comment coincided with the election campaign that was conducted between the current President and the former vice president Joe Biden for the national election to be conducted on November 3rd, 2020. The statement uttered by the President could have negative repercussion at the polling stations prompting Afro Americans and citizens of Ethiopian origin to decide not to elect President Trump who seeks a second term.

President Trump’s statement was not a slip of a tongue but a war cry that could possibly ignite a major instability on the Horn of Africa leading to a total regional crisis. On the other hand the statement vividly depicts that the US had no or limited knowledge both about Ethiopia and Africa at large. Any person with sober mind would conclude that the President was tampering with the sovereignty of this country which was kept alive by the flesh and blood of martyrs who fought not only for Ethiopia but also for Africa and in keeping peace under the auspices of the UN during the Korean War, in Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Abiyei and Darfur.
Ethiopia cooperated with the US in their joint efforts to wipe out terrorists from the Horn of Africa and this cooperation is still going on but Donald Trump’s statement is geared towards terrorizing the country without calculating the consequences it will have on the long standing US national interest on the Horn of Africa. It appears that the President is not well versed on the realties in Africa and Ethiopia.
The US has every right to maintain close relations with Egypt but certainly not by presenting Ethiopia as a lamb for sacrifice on the Egyptian altar. The President boldly claimed that his administration prepared a document that Ethiopia is expected to sign on terms irrationally favorable to Egypt while defying international law which does not compel Ethiopia to sign any document with no sign of equity and with no respect for Ethiopia.
Ethiopia firmly believes that the President’s abrupt comment does represent the official position of the peoples of the USA who will continue to enjoy amicable and friendly relations with Ethiopia, however.
As Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has noted, Ethiopia is used to effectively repealing all kinds of wars and treacherous conspiracies that were always part of the history of this country. The US with its long years of experience in diplomacy should have known that AU has all the necessary legal instruments to effectively mediate between the three countries as it is also mandated to do so. Belittling the capacity of the AU is another tactic that both the US administration and Egypt have used contrary to the response given by the UNSC on the appeal made by Egypt regarding GERD. In as much as the US has built Hoover Dam on a river in its own territory, Ethiopia has the right to build, finish and use the hydropower from the dam to fulfill the needs of more than 60 percent of the Ethiopian population who have no access to electricity.
Ethiopia did not ask for any financial assistance from the US and the leadership of the country has no moral or legal ground to take sides on the issue of the dam for which it had not contributed a penny.
Earlier in 1977 when the Somali irredentist forces invaded Ethiopia from two directions, the Carter Administration withheld armaments for which Ethiopia has paid, the administration encouraged NATO, Egyptian and countries of the Arab League to supply huge amount of military hardware for Somalia who was the invader and denied Ethiopia the necessary armaments it badly needed to defend and protect its territorial boundaries. President Trump repeats this denial in a new sugar coated diplomatic treachery.
Despite all the above mentioned patterns of intimidations, Ethiopia will continue to maintain continuous diplomatic relations with the US even if President Donald Trump continues to trumpet and thump on Ethiopia’s natural and legal right to use the waters of Abay to provide electricity to her citizens.
It is to be noted that despite change of presidencies in the US and in spite of the fact that Ethiopia has come through the leadership of four regimes since 1953 when Ethiopia established formal diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, this country will not simply throw away the good old days in which both countries enjoyed credible diplomatic relations that exceeded 100 years.

The Ethiopian Herald