New Nile pact puts Kenya-Egypt ties to test

Kenya and other Nile basin countries have however stood their ground.

“By signing this agreement, we are discarding the colonial era treaty and nothing is going to stop us from using the Nile water resources according to its provision,” said Mrs Ngilu.

The standoff between Kenya and Egypt over the application of a new CFA is likely to open another front in the long standing trade and diplomatic disputes with Egypt, putting trade worth billions of shillings at stake.

Just like Kenya, Sudan and Egypt are Comesa members with which Kenya is currently implementing a custom union.

Trade between Kenya and Egypt has grown significantly over the last five years in favour of Kenya.

Government statistics indicate that Kenya’s exports to Egypt reached Sh15.5 billion in 2008 compared to imports of Sh10.8 billion.

Egypt is currently the leading export destination for Kenya’s tea.

Figures from Tea Board of Kenya indicate that in the first quarter of 2010, Egypt imported 25.3 Million kilogrammes of Kenyan tea, accounting for 22 per cent of the total export volume.

This performance outshone other key export destinations like UK which imported 22.5 Million kilogrammes, Afghanistan’s 7.3 Million Kgs, Pakistan’s 15.2 Million Kgs and Sudan which imported 5.8 Million Kgs.

Egypt on the other hand exports a range of household goods to Kenya ranging from toiletries to foodstuffs which have occasionally run into problems with the revenue of officials for flouting tax laws.

A senior water ministry official who took part in the CFA negotiation but did not want to be quoted discussing a matter being discussed at ministerial level said Egypt and Sudan opted out of the Nile talks after disagreeing with the wording of the new legal framework.

Article 14(b) of the CFA signed by Mrs Ngilu yesterday states that no country in the region will be allowed to use the Nile water resources in a manner that it ‘causes water security and significantly affects other users.’

Egypt and Sudan want the phrase to read “causes water security and adversely affect current users”.

The search for an equitable distribution mechanism of the Nile water resources got a new impetus from two years of drought that heightened pasture and water conflicts among communities in the region last year.