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Kenya Scrapping of the Nile pact is a declaration of war: Egypt
14 December 2003
CAIRO - Egypt has reacted strongly to the announcement made by the Kenyan government in which it called for unilaterally revoking the 1929 Water Nile Accord, when the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources Dr Mahmoud Abu Zaid described it a declaration of war and threatened to sever diplomatic ties between his country Egypt and Kenya.
This had promoted Uganda to retract while Tanzania remained silent. Kenyan Minister for Water Resources, however, stuck to its stringent government stand, which regards the agreement signed in 1929 as not existing.
The Arabic daily AliIttihad's exclusive report was confirmed when the Kenyan Minister of Water Resources, Marta Caroa, said her country had been exerting continuous efforts over the years to amend the Nile water agreement in a way as to serve the interests of all Nile basin states, but that the Egyptian government had always been "hindering the proposed reforms".
She said the agreement which was signed by the British colonialists with the Egyptian government did not serve the countries of the River Nile source but it served only the interests of Egypt. Ms Caroa said this appeared clearly in the provisions of the accord. The accord stipulates that the Egyptian government's approval is needed for the use of waters from Lake Victoria by the three east African countries.
She, however, said the threats made by her Egyptian counterpart from Addis Ababa would not affect the decisions taken by her country.
Although the Ugandan Minister of Water and Environment, Maria Motagamba, said the decision taken by Nairobi was a surprise to her country, she told Alittihad that her country believed that efforts for negotiation with Egypt on amendments of the agreement had not yet reached a stage of collapse.
The country (Uganda) understood and supported the Kenyan stand, but would continue making effort to amend the agreement through talks and negotiation, it was stated.
She, however, said in case negotiations failed, she would be compelled to take a stand similar to that of Kenya.
Abu Zaid said in statements to Kenyan daily East Africa from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that the unilateral decision taken by the Kenyan government, revoking the agreement, is a declaration of war against Egypt.
He said the legal committee was studying how to answer the Kenyan decision.
Nairobi, he said, would not benefit from backing out from the agreement, and the decision would have an adverse impact on diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.
He said Kenya would be liable to penalties and boycott by all members of the Nile water agreement.
Dr Abu Zaid said that the issue of Nile water and related agreements and conventions were subject to international laws and norms, and the Kenyan stand had not been taken up at the meetings of the officials of the Nile basin, which were attended by Irrigation ministers of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Nor was it raised at the on-going African water Conference held in Ethiopia.-
The signatories of the agreement include the 10 states of the Nile basin. These are Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Burundi and Eritrea.
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