Public Participation: Cementing GERD

By Aklile Tsige

The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam /GERD/ is being undertaken by Ethiopians at home and the Diaspora in all corners of the globe; no financial assistance from international, continental and regional organizations. But it is all because of the strong conviction and commitment of its citizens that the mega project is nearing completion despite different pressure imposed by the downstream countries, USA and the European Union.

Ethiopia has a long tradition in participation and consultation. Participants are all people in a society involved in political, economic, and social activities. The government is aware of the need to solicit proposals and suggestions from the public about policies, the Constitution, and development strategies to encourage communities to express their views and increase their sense of ownership and responsibility in the future of the country.

Aklile Tsige, Editor-in-Chief of ABN sat with Aregawi Berhe (PHD), Director General of the Office of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam /GERD/ to discuss updates on continued public contributions to the National Flag Project.Aregawi, whowas attending his higher education at the Addis Ababa University before he became one of the founders of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is currently in charge of the opposition Tigray Democratic Coalition Party.

After a long period in exile, Aregawi returned home in 2018 following Prime Minister Abiy’s call for political dissidents who were living abroad, to come home and participate in peaceful political struggle.

While he was in exile Aregawi has managed to earn his Master’s Degree in Politics of Development, and his PHD in Political Sociology. He has also been engaged in active political participation and related activities such as national inter-party dialogues, among others, since his return.Aregawi is now in charge of a renewed effort of sustaining the public support for the construction of GERD, a major project Ethiopia is building without external support.

As an Ethiopian citizen I have bought bond; as Director General of the Office I am working hard day in day out to help achieve the objective of the office I am responsible for ”

IT'S OUR DAM

The Blue Nile runs through 11 countries of East and North Africa, including Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt, before reaching the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile contributes about 86% of the Nile’s water and originates in the Ethiopian highlands, while the White Nile, which contributes about 14%, originates from Burundi and flows through the Equatorial Lakes (Victoria, Kyoga, and Mobutu) to the Sudd swamps of Sudan. The Nile covers about one-tenth of the African continent and is the primary source of water for about 430 million people (Freitas, 2013; Salman, 2013). The GERD project, which started in 2011, is being constructed over the Blue Nile (the main tributary of the Nile), spanning about 1529 km and is located about 15 km east of Ethiopia’s frontier, the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.

It is expected to hold 63 billion cubic meters of water, generate 6,450 MW of electricity that could be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa and the tenth largest

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Aregawi Berhe (PhD)

Head, Office of National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of GERD.

in the world. Once completed, the dam is estimated to take about 5 to 15 years to fill with water.

Director General of the Office of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam /GERD/, Aregawi Berhe (PHD) stated that Ethiopia’s aspiration and commitment for development is best demonstrated through the unanimous support and contribution to the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

From the very inception, the GERD has been an attempt to answer what has been our generation’s quest for an equitable and reasonable utilization of the Abay River and other rivers contributing to Nile from Ethiopia.

“As an Ethiopian citizen I have bought bond; as Director General of the Office I am working hard day in day out to help achieve the objective of the office I am responsible for.”

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a major component of Ethiopia’s economic diversification plan, and it should have been completed earlier as per its initial plan. However, after a series of delays linked to political uncertainty and allegations of corruption in the military-run conglomerate that was the lead domestic contractor, it is now taking the right track due to Government’s political commitment, alleviating the bottlenecks that hampered the construction process, recalled the Director General.

The principles of public participation include that the public should have a say in decisions about actions that could affect its members’ lives, the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision, promotion of sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decisionmaking agencies. Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision. It also seeks input from participants in designing how they participate, and provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way. It communicates to participants how their input affected the decision Best practice principles for public participation in protected area management,

According to Aregawi Berhe (PHD), public consultation and participation has played a key role in the continued planning of development projects. Many argue that Project design has been improved to reduce negative and enhance positive impacts of projects; Project sustainability has been achieved through increased public understanding and support of projects and the ability for other projects to be conceived and implemented in a complementary fashion.

“As an Ethiopian citizen I have bought bond; as Director General of the Office I am working hard day in day out to help achieve the objective of the office I am responsible for.”

Aregawi noted, adding that he has been contributing his share to enhance the participation of different sections of the society in the ongoing support for the construction of the Dam.

Aregawi also emphasized the importance of coordinating and organizing a platform that brings together influential institutions such as Ethio-telecom, Ethiopian Electric Utility, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Diaspora Agency as well as organs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to make the international community well aware of Ethiopians development need,the truth about Abay River’s water resource current status,and Ethiopia’s position on the construction of GERD.

Besides bond purchase and fundraising events, the general public, the Diaspora, government and private institutions, as well as scholars in universities across the country have begun to show enhanced interest to raise public awareness on the Abay issue through organizing various seminars, workshops and public gathering.

Aregawi further stated that research papers being undertaken by Ethiopian Universities’ scholars mainly focus on revealing the misleading and false propaganda of the downstream countries: Egypt and Sudan about the construction of GERD, and Ethiopia’s quest for fair and logical utilization of its natural resource, adding that the findings and recommendations drawn from the researches have been published and communicated with Ethiopian Embassies across the globe, websites and different media channels.

With regard to the first filling of the Dam, the Director General noted that the first filling of the Dam was the cause of great jubilation among the general public; it has been moment, showing Ethiopia’s long-awaited development need is nearing. Children have been motivated to write poems on Abay River, drawing paintings and doing other related artistic works.

“We’ve to safeguard our national interest by standing in unison. The solution for our problems is in our hands because if we don’t solve the

problems by ourselves, no one can solve it. Now, all patriotic Ethiopians should make inclusive contribution than ever for the completion of the construction of GERD,”

The Director General noted that the Office has plan to further expand the various fundraising platforms to enhance the public participation for the construction of the dam, which is 80% complete and expected to start generating power with its two turbines at the end of the current 2020/21 fiscal year.

Fundraising platforms through mobile SMS, bond purchase, and financial grants will continue with increased participation from both Ethiopians at home and in the diaspora community, said Aregawi, adding that last year, the office, despite the impact of COVID 19 pandemic, managed to raise 745 million Birr of its 1.2 billion Birr target.

Regional Public Coordination offices have been working closely with the Office of the National Council and Preparations are underway to sustain the public support for the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Director General said. Other possible alternatives of fundraising and public participation mechanisms will also be considered in the coming months in order to secure up to 2 billion Birr during the current budget year, the director added. According to Aregawi, “Bond Purchase Week” is one of the most effective and popular fundraising scheme the Office is undertaking, bringing together all Ethiopians at home and the Diaspora.A special tombola lottery will be also prepared by the office as part of this year’s fund raising campaign, he said.

The public and the private sectors, financial institutions, and the Diaspora community in particular have been playing key role for the contribution. According to the office, over 121 billion birr has so far been invested for the construction of the dam and expected to consume additional 40 billion Birr up to its completion. Fundraising platforms in various forms have been continued to enhance the public participation for the construction of the GERD, Office disclosed.

The office is always working to further strengthen public contribution and participation in environmental protection activities across all tributaries of the Abay River and the construction site , said Aregawi Berhe (PHD), Director-General of the Office of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The director general indicated that enhancing public participation and strengthening media coverage has also paramount importance.According to him, efforts have been underway to mobilize the society starting from grassroots. The public, private and other stakeholders should play a key role in this end.

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“We’ve to safeguard our national interest by standing in unison. The solution for our problems is in our hands because if we don’t solve the problems by ourselves, no one can solve it.” Now, all patriotic Ethiopians should make inclusive contribution than ever for the completion of the construction of GERD,” Aregawi said.

Public involvement is necessary for the efficient implementation of development projects in Ethiopia. Public involvement is not only required for development projects affecting the environment, but is also necessary for identifying the impact projects will have on communities.

He called on general public and stakeholders to engage actively in all activities as the dam would change the livelihoods of many Ethiopians bringing overall economic and social and economic advantages. Realizing the construction of GERD will address the growing demand for power without harming downstream countries, he noted How public involvement will be included in projects like GERD will depend on the project site. The ultimate goal is to make projects sustainable as public involvement in participatory process requires sufficient logistics, expertise, and appropriate data and information. As Ethiopia is among the Least Developed Countries (LDC), striving hard to be a middle-income nation in the next few years, it will need to receive technical and financial international assistance in this area. Most importantly, it has to consolidate its plan to put in place the home-grown economic development initiative, thereby averting dependency syndrome the country has pursued for many years.