BUJUMBURA August 24th (ABP) – The National Assembly analyzed and passed, on Wednesday August 23, 2023, the bill on the ratification, by the Republic of Burundi, of the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the River Basin Nile.
It was the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Sanctus Niragira, who explained the reasons for that bill.
He recalled that a treaty for sharing the waters of the Nile, set up in 1929 and renewed in 1959, offers exclusive use of the waters of the Nile, only to Egypt, the winner of the treaty up to 55.5 billion m³ and in Sudan with 18.5 billion. The average annual flow of the Nile is estimated at 85 billion m³, giving those two countries the right of veto over all hydraulic projects that may affect the waters of the Nile.
According to Mr. Niragira, the countries upstream of the river, including Burundi, ”have been excluded from the Agreement and have not obtained the right of exploitation, thus becoming mere spectators”.
Although the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a sub-regional organization comprising 11 countries including Egypt and Sudan, was set up in 1999, six downstream countries (Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) signed their own treaty in 2010, namely the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Nile River Basin”.
The latter authorizes the six upstream countries to “develop irrigation and hydroelectric dam projects without waiting for prior approval from Cairo. However, Egypt and Sudan opposed the treaty of the aforementioned six countries.
Currently, four countries have already ratified the treaty. There remain Burundi and Kenya. Inviting the MPs to vote for the bill, the Minister in charge of the environment explained that if the ratification is effective in the six countries, the treaty enters the implementation phase.
Burundi concluded a year and a half ago, a cooperation agreement with Egypt for the implementation of the project for the integrated management of water resources in Burundi.
The MPs wanted to know if there will be any overlap in the application of the two agreements. Minister Niragira replied negatively by giving difference between the two agreements. The cooperation agreement with Egypt aims at bilateral cooperation, while the Framework Agreement has a multilateral character. After analysis, the bill was passed with 109 votes, with only one abstention.