A local sailboat, known as faluka, sails in the River Nile on the outskirts of Cairo on May 18, 2010.
By THE CITIZEN
DODOMA
Tanzania has urged the
Nile Council of Ministers to ensure that they iron out the differences
that have hampered the sharing of water from the River Nile.
Prime
Minister Mizengo Pinda also appealed to the ministers to ensure
that Nile water resources are protected and well preserved for the
benefit of citizens of member states.
Mr Pinda assured
the ministers that Tanzania would adhere to the principles governing
transboundary water resources from the River Nile Basin.
Officiating during
the 23rd Nile Council of Ministers (Nilecom) meeting this week, Mr
Pinda urged them to be vigilant in ensuring that no member state
tampered with the water resources.
“As you are meeting
here today, it is imperative that you sort out your differences for the
better of your people,” he told ministers and delegates.
Mr Pinda also urged the ministers to chart measures on how best to use the resources sustainably.
“The
principle of equitable and reasonable use and the obligation to cause
no harm should be the cornerstones and the basis of co-operation among
the Riparian states in respect to the River Nile basin…
“There
is a need to ensure sustainable use of the Nile River resources; it is
my conviction that what has been achieved so far will be sustained in
making the resources a blessing and not a curse,” he added.
He
also pledged the Tanzanian government’s adherence to the principles
governing transboundary water resource management, saying it will
continue to support efforts to strengthen co-operation among the Nile
Basin countries.
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For
his part, Tanzania's Minister for Water, Jumanne Maghembe, told fellow
ministers that the Nile Basin Initiative has witnessed remarkable
achievements from the countries that share water resources from the
Nile.
Prof Maghembe, who is taking over the
chairmanship of Nilecom from his Sudanese counterpart, Mr Mutaz Abdalla
Salim, noted that the Nile Basin Initiative was becoming more visible
through projects in the Nile basin countries and this was in turn
stimulating the greater aspirations and expectations of the basin
population.
“Many professionals and technicians have
been trained in various skills, including but not limited to fields like
hydropower, agriculture and investment strategies,” he said.
According
to John Rao Nyaoro, the executive director of the Nile Basin Initiative
Secretariat, NBI had by last Thursday signed a grant agreement worth 1
million euros (about Ksh108 million) which he said was aimed at
strengthening the capabilities of NBI member states in the
identification, preparation and implementation of development projects
in the Nile Basin.
The one day meeting brought together a host of development partners and water ministers from the Nile Basin Initiative.
This story first appeared in www.thecitizen.co.tz