If their argument were only over water, the dispute that is threatening to throw Egyptian jets against Ethiopian concrete might be easily resolved.But in the coming weeks, when Ethiopia starts filling Continue reading on The Times
Mohamed Abou Mahmud, an Egyptian farmer, is one of millions of people living along the banks of the Nile whose livelihoods could be affected by the dam in far-off Ethiopia
I f their argument were only over water, the dispute that is threatening to throw Egyptian jets against Ethiopian concrete might be easily resolved.
But in the coming weeks, when Ethiopia starts filling the reservoir behind its Grand Renaissance Dam, the biggest in Africa and half a century in the making, it will touch nerves deeper even than the River Nile, the lifeblood of both countries.
On the one hand the project promises to connect millions of Ethiopians to the electricity grid for the first time, and embodies a defining national endeavour. The dam is an expression of the country’s evolution from a symbol of famine and war to Africa’s burgeoning economic powerhouse.