Last week, after a year of hiatus, the tripartite ministers met in Cairo to continue talks about how water should be filled and released in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Egypt wants the dam to release a minimum of 40 billion cubic meters of water annually. Egypt relies on the Nile for 90 percent of its freshwater and it wants the GERD’s reservoir to release a higher volume of water than Ethiopia is willing to guarantee. Ethiopia has not said exactly how much water they are willing to release but they feel that they should be the one to determine this amount.
Last Wednesday, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Sileshi Bekele responded to Egypt’s request by saying they were contradicting commitments previously made between the three countries.
“Ethiopia has completely refused the new proposal, because it goes against our sovereignty,” he told media on Wednesday September 18. “It is unnecessary and harmful to Ethiopia’s interest,” Sileshi said.
According to Sileshi, Egypt’s new proposal is related to the operation of the hydropower project and the water level of Aswan High Dam and annual flow of the water.
“The proposal is developed separately and we can’t agree with that. We will prepare our counter proposal,” he said.
He also said it should be Ethiopian not Egyptian experts that make recommendations on the project. “The issue is technical not political. We have registered several positive results in past discussions and we have transparently delivered information to stakeholders but the reporting from Egypt goes against the facts,” he explained.
The proposal stated Ethiopia should release more water when the Aswan Dam goes below 165 meters. ‘It is unacceptable since we don’t have information about their water usage, and this does not take into account our future developmental plan,” he explained.
Sudan and Ethiopia will come up with a counterproposal during a meeting from September 30 to October 3 in Khartoum. “In the upcoming meeting a panel of experts from the three countries, will go over a proposal tabled in Cairo on September 25, 2018.
In first two days of the up coming meeting the panel of experts will look at the new proposals and counter proposals.
Sileshi said GERD will start power production by the end of 2020 with two turbines. Currently about six companies are involved after the state owned Metal and Engineering Corporation was excluded from the project.
The tripartite ministerial meeting has been halted due to political instability in Sudan for the past year. GERD will generate over 6,000MW of electricity.
Ethiopia rejects Egypt’s request to increase GERD water flow
DANGEROUS DRONES
We regard the invention of drones as one of the most potent anti symmetric weapon systems ever designed by modern man. Admittedly, this is a sweeping statement, especially coming from a column that is not known for exaggeration. We will attempt an explication!
Way back then, the invention of the gun, which utilized gunpowder, was a quantum leap in the sphere of weaponry. For centuries, gunpowder remained the fountainhead of all arsenals. The various weapons that were based on gunpowder rendered the spear or the bow and arrow or the sword and shield, absolutely impotent. Moreover, unlike the old weapons the new concoctions based on gunpowder did not require ‘Spartan physicals’ for their effective utilization. In the olden days it was brute force generated by human muscle that was always in play. When the Chinese gunpowder was transformed from its traditional peaceful use to the realm of destruction, geopolitics changed irreversibly! The claim is; it was the Mongols who introduced gunpowder to Europe. Such quantum change or significant leap, we prefer calling ‘anti-symmetric’! We like this phrase because it conveys a significant departure from the established or even the expected. See Smith’s article next column.
Just like the bullet (propelled by the explosion of gunpowder in the brass shell) rendered the muscle weapons useless, drones are rapidly and effectively replacing many of the old arsenals. Granted, drones are, by and large, delivery vehicles. Yet, their effectiveness, not only in the delivery of various weapons, but also in physical confrontation makes them special. These and other features warrant the name anti-systemic! AI (Artificial Intelligence) piloted drones can fight with their own spears, swords and shields or bows and arrows. We can assure you even the old Roman gladiators won’t have a fighting chance against this modern monsters! At the same time, drones can be invaluable in surveillance. They can be programmed to follow an individual anywhere in the world. By targeting a specific ‘sim card’ or a ‘biometric data’, drones can deliver a serious blow to their target! A bullet’s trajectory is always a ‘line-of-sight’. A drone can do all kinds of maneuverings, including U-turns. No wonder, the old grandeur of ‘marksmanship’, with its gunpowder-propelled bullets, is now only a nostalgic sport of no significance! Drones do not necessarily hug the earth’s surface, at least not to the extent human soldiers do, including pilots of flying objects! When it comes to heights, drones have no narrow bounds like humans. Mark our words; it won’t be long before drones replace most of the (manned) fighter planes in the world!
Unlike we land crawlers drones are truly three-dimensional. In the scheme of planetary things, we are hardly three-dimensional. Even flying creatures (birds, insects, etc.) have their own limitations when it comes to height/altitude. On the other hand, specially designed drones can fly very high, without any damage to their bodily or software-ly constitution. Drones can be made supersonic with significant payload. The Chinese are expected to display their supersonic drones in the coming few days. This is bound to create havoc on old weapons system, like aircraft carriers, etc. As if that is not enough, supersonic drones with nuclear weapons can also be maneuvered remotely to avoid incoming trajectories (read missiles), hence will be illusive. This creation of the Russians has brought back the MAD détente (Mutually Assured Destruction) back to the negotiating table!
Drones’ size can range from very minute to seriously huge. The small ones can be designed to do certain specific things, like mimicking insects (mosquitos, etc.). These small drones can be made to carry and deliver biological/chemical weapons to a specific target without being noticed! The drones used in the attack of the Saudi petroleum plants were neither very large nor complex. Nonetheless, they proved to be effective. Drones are also cost effective, compared to other delivery vehicles, like missiles or fighter planes. Since drones do not have human operators inside them, they can be made cheaply, materially and financially. We believe, ‘use and throw’ drones will be preponderant in future wars. See the articles on page 36 & 38.
Protecting targets from drones is not always an easy undertaking. Even the potent anti missile/air defense system of the Russians (Pantsyr-S1, BUK and S-300, S-400) can easily be overwhelmed. One needs plenty of air defense systems to protect every nook and cranny, which of course is an impossibility! Can one control or predict birds’ paths or mosquitos’ or flies’, etc.? It is claimed there were over ten drones that hit the Saudi plant. There might have been even more, probably used as decoys. Since we are not privy to exactly what happened, we cannot say for sure, but our speculation is not farfetched. The dangers drones pose to the world at large is frightening, even to contemplate. A lunatic equipped with a home made/assembled drone, packing various weapons, (chemical, biological, etc.) along with a Google map can create chaos that is beyond the imagination of many a sheeple. Let us hope such happenstances will not come to pass! The multifarious nature of drones is coming to light only now. The Saudi petroleum plant disaster is bound to increase the awareness.
We believe a new mindset is in order. Instead of always seeking domination via confrontation, states/non state actors, particularly those who have the upper hand, must be willing to relinquish their monopoly on the massively organized violence, so that others will not wish to seek it. Humanity must earnestly examine its current situation, from climate change to drones, from unsustainable existence to phony money, etc. We need to go back to the basics and change our ways. We need to avoid evil thinking and evil doings. Drones came around because we continue to obsess about vacuous accumulation, devoid of values.
Here are two differing views from the two most powerful leaders of the world. “And remember the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers.” Vladimir Putin quoting the Koran. “There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!” Donald Trump. Good Day!
AFDB TO OFFER GRANT TO PACCI, IGAD
The African Development (AfDB) held a Preparatory Meeting with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) on September 19 and 20th, 2019 to design and implement measures that improve trade flows and competitiveness through better participation and capacity of the private sector, notably the micro and small enterprises along Ethiopia’s Addis Djibouti and other transport corridors within the neighboring countries.
The three-year trade facilitation support commitment will provide up to USD 300 thousand to identify key impediments to trade along the Ethio-Djibouti corridor and quantify their impacts in order to inform the development of trade facilitation and business climate reforms along the corridor . Close to USD 400 thousand will also be used to enhance the capacity of private sector bodies (notably chambers of commerce, and trade/sector associations) as well as businesses to influence public policy, and improve the competitiveness of business and industry. The objectives are to eliminate barriers, cross border barriers, to trade and facilitate cross border movement, and goods, and services, and promote conditions of fair competition and race on a regional, continental as well as global basis.
The new program, which is strongly aligned with and complementary to a number of national and applicable regional integration strategies and trade policies along the corridor, brings together for the first time PACCI, a private sector support organization, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and a IGAD, a regional economic community – to improve trade facilitation environment in East Africa.
Kebour Ghenna, Executive Director of PACCI, said the project brings us into shared purpose across national borders, working to address common needs. Trade, Kebour said is about people. It’s about creating the best possible conditions for growth, for jobs, for prosperity for individuals. It’s an adhesive, working to connect people even when political differences may push in the other direction. He stated, we are very pleased to work on this project with our financier the AfDB and our implementing partner IGAD.
PACCI is the implementing agency of the project, and in consultation with IGAD and the Bank, will shortly submit a work plan and budget approved by a Project Steering Committee that will form the basis for implementation and monitoring.
PACCI, the largest membership based business association in Africa, has steadily been increasing its footprint in Africa. It is committed to making a difference in the business community by supporting business and industry associations who share its vision to reduce trading costs, increase business and help Africa be more competitive in the global marketplace.
Hyatt Regency works to reduce food waste
Hyatt Regency has come up with innovative ways to reduce food waste. The Hotel began implementing the strategy three months ago by engaging with customers.
“We followed approaches to eliminate food waste by analyzing the type of event and involving our sales team to offer menus based on preference,” says Lars Windfuhr, Executive Chef of Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa.
“Staff sorted left over food and sent to a prime food company to consume for their own farm; hence there won’t be any wastage,” he said. 
Hyatt also is recycling paper and glass. They also have been producing their own bottled water to avoid using plastic bottles. For the last three months, they have given 3,000kg of meat to their prime company, 700 kg of paper has been recycled and 15,000 kg of bottles. When the Hotel set up the water bottling plant, 40,000 USD was invested to install it in their basement. Currently, the plant treats and produces 1,000 glass bottles of water in half and one-liter sizes every day.
According to a study by Tefera Numera, about 66,600 tons of food waste was generated every year from Addis Ababa city. Nearly, 97 percent was generated during food preparation and 3 percent by consumers. But waste contains a high amount of total solids, dissolved solids, and suspended solids, volatile solids that are directly disposed into a landfill. Food waste costs money and pollutes the environment.
The most important step in reducing food waste is to avoid its creation, so focusing on real needs of nutrition and choosing to be careful preparing food and avoiding dumping is essential.
