RWANDA BACKS SOUTH SUDAN FOR EAC AND NILE BASIN MEMBERSHIP
Rwanda officially went on record yesterday when expressing their support to the new Republic of South Sudan in their bid to join the Nile Basin Commission and the East African Community, amongst other bodies the new country is set to apply to for membership.
Egypt and the rump state of North Sudan ruled by a regime under ICC wanted Gen. Bashir, are thought to be most opposed to this development, as they loath the idea of another ‘water producer’ joining up with Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Congo DR., Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia, pushing the two sole ‘water consumer countries’ into an even more significant minority.
The signing on to the treaty recently by Burundi has made the new Nile Treaty a legal reality and replaces the 1929 and 1959 treaties the British colonialist forced upon their newly independent former colonies and protectorates in East Africa.
Long disputed and eventually ignored, first by Tanzania and then by others too, Egypt had under the old treaties a veto right on projects involving contributory rivers and the lakes Victoria, Kyoga and Albert for the ‘White Nile’ while equally demanding the same rights over Ethiopia’s sovereignity over the ‘Blue Nile’, something more recently firmly rejected by Addis Ababa and put into the ‘realm of myths’.
Predictably will in particular the regime in Khartoum fear that the South Sudan will be siding with their friends in East Africa when it comes to deciding on the portion of Nile water the South will claim as its own, then leaving Khartoum and Cairo to slug it out over the balance of the water left.
Juba is also expected to soon make a formal application for membership in the East African Community, something Khartoum also tried to push on the agenda with little success, as the EAC will remember Khartoum’s obstinate behaviour and foolish interference and oppression inflicted on fellow Africans in the South Sudan, which now controls the majority of the oil produced. Kenya in particular is said to be keen to offer railway and pipeline links to the South Sudan and will push for even closer cooperation between the two countries, already linked with the most flights from anywhere between Nairobi and Juba.
While the EAC is still ‘digesting’ the ascension of Rwanda and Burundi it is quite keen to see the South Sudan apply next, which will then set of a process of between 2 and 4 years to harmonize laws, regulations and economic cooperation on a wide scale before officially admitting RoSS as a full member.
South Sudan’s most important trading partner Uganda is also said to be in full support of upcoming joining applications and like Kenya set to take full advantage of the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries to advance travel and trade.
Watch this space.
