Addis Ababa August 1/2020 (ENA) The people and the government of Ethiopia should continue working very hard and maximize their effort to realize the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is “a source of national pride,” a scholar said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, Department of Science a Technology (DST) chair at National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa, Professor Mammo Muchie congratulated the people and the government of Ethiopia for their effort on the first filling of the dam.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was recently filled with 4.9 billion cubic meters of water.
There was no clarity in the beginning whether the filling of the dam was going to happen, the professor said, adding that “when it actually happened I think all Ethiopians that support the dam were exceptionally happy.”
“I hope we all should celebrate, continue to work very hard, come together and make sure that Ethiopia comes out of poverty and real prosperity comes to Ethiopia,” he said.
All Ethiopians inside the country and abroad should replicate the Adwa Victory by coming together to complete the dam by raising fund and using other mechanisms, Professor Mammo stressed.
Ethiopians have so far contributed over 13 billion Birr for the dam being constructed entirely with domestic funds in addition to actively advocating the benefits of the dam at regional and international arenas.
The scholar blamed some external and internal actors for trying to incite inter-ethnic conflict and division in the country.
He noted that “whatever happens we should encourage all the people of Ethiopia to come out of this ethnic division and support construction, fulfillment as well as completion of the dam. It should no longer be delayed. I think it must be completed quickly and the unity of our people and government as one is extremely important.”
According to him, GERD will transform Ethiopia’s economic endeavors and will bring about a revolution that eradicates poverty. Ethiopian should therefore work in harmony to complete the dam.
Professor Mammo reiterated that the dam is not only beneficial to Ethiopia, but also to the region as a whole.
He explained: “The electricity which will be generated will not cause water loss of as such. In fact we will gain more water and efforts can be made to purify more water and sharing can happen. It will also integrate the region with power.”
The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has reportedly reached 74.8 percent and the first-year filling of the dam completed.
