Museveni tips countries on utilising River Nile
Owali Kitagenda, 40, casting his net to catch fish on River Nile in Jinja, Uganda on October 7, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The Nile is regarded as the source of life.
President Museveni has tasked the Nile Basin member states to collaborate and maximise the benefits of the River Nile as opposed to any old agreements that favour some.
The President said some countries are using the old treaties to lay more claim for control of the River Nile, something he said does not count in modern times.
His message was read out by Vice President Jessica Alupo, at the opening of the three-day 7th Nile Basin Development Forum in Kampala on Monday.
“He [President] asked me to say that he has heard that Egypt is still concentrating attention too much on the agreement which was signed a long time ago in Khartoum and that the agreement does not permit some countries to irrigate crops,” Ms Alupo said.
“So he asked me to say that if that is true, Egypt should concentrate on focusing attention together with all of us to preserve and protect the environment,” she added.
Ms Alupo said the President emphasised the need to increase the volumes of water in the Nile, “and therefore enabling all of us to use that water for production and productivity.”
Speaking at the same event, a Kenyan activist and lawyer, Prof Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, commonly known as PLO Lumumba, challenged African states that share the River Nile to use the water responsibly if they are to boost agricultural production and electricity.
“We should be using transboundary waters for purposes of irrigation that is what has happened in different parts of the world and if we did this, then Africa could benefit from this,” Prof Lumumba said.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga urged the Nile Basin states to strengthen their ties if they are to continue with proper sharing of the resource.
“The Nile is regarded as the source of life. The symbol that binds us together. You have reaffirmed that the future of the Nile Basin rests not just in the hands of one nation but it’s a collective commitment of all the stakeholders,” she said.
About conference
The conference themed “Deepening Nile cooperation: Accelerating the achievement of SDGs in a changing climate”, attracted delegates from Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan.
