VenturesNow

Ethiopia: GERD dam comes on stream but Sudan, Egypt aren’t smiling. Here’s why

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2022

The $4.2bn (£3.8bn) mega dam, located in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, River Nile; Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), has generated electricity for the first time.

The massive hydropower plant on the Blue Nile, owned by Ethiopia – on it’s commissioning – triggered a decade-long discord with Sudan and Egypt.

Sudan and Egypt say the mega-dam will cause severe water shortages downstream.

The $4.2bn (£3.8bn) dam, located in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, has been a source of contention between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan since its construction started in 2011.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated electricity production on Sunday from the mega-dam, saying the controversial multi-billion-dollar project “was built by Ethiopians but not only for Ethiopians, rather for all our African brothers and sisters to benefit from.

The move, Egypt condemned – believes is violating its obligations under the 2015 Declaration of Principles.

“The Ethiopian side has taken a further step in violating its obligations under the 2015 Declaration of Principles,” the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement published on its Facebook page on Feb. 20. Cairo believes the unilateral measure will disrupt the Blue Nile, despite not having a direct impact on Egyptian water interests.

On the other hand, Sudan rejected what it described as a “unilateral step” by Ethiopia to begin electricity production from the GERD.

“Ethiopia’s decision to unilaterally begin operation of the GERD constitutes a violation to the Declaration of Principles signed by the three parties,” Sudan’s acting Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Daw Al-Bait Abdul-Rahman said in a statement.

“Before the move, the Ethiopian side should have provided the other parties with enough information, such as the volume of water expected to exit from behind the dam, to know if the Sudanese reservoirs would be able to absorb it to adopt the necessary precautions.”

Egypt, which has a rapidly growing population of more than 100 million, relies on the Nile for at least 90 percent of its freshwater.

Egypt – a predominantly desert, is most worried about the risk of drought conditions such as those that occurred in the late 1970s and early ’80s and has pushed for Ethiopia to fill the reservoir over a longer period if needed and guarantee minimum flows.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has called for the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations to mediate directly.

The African Union had in 2020 discussed developments pertaining to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele suspended by President Tinubu

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu has suspended the country’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) head on Friday evening.

The director of information at the SGF office, Willie Bassey, in a statement, said the suspension was with immediate effect.

The CBN under Emefiele announced new designs of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes in December. The implementation of the policy was however controversial as it launched an era of cash scarcity which some observers say was targeted at then ruling party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu, and some believe limited his chances.

Tinubu has signalled going in a different direction. During his inauguration speech, he pledged to pursue unification of the exchange rate windows and backed ease of repatriation of funds for foreign investors, policies that have not been favoured by the CBN under Emefiele.

Former president Muhammadu Buhari reappointed Emiefele for a second and final term of five years in 2019. He was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2014, hours after he announced the suspension of his predecessor, Sanusi Lamido.

He was the managing director of top Nigerian bank, Zenith Bank before his appointment .

VenturesNow

Ghana records 32% increase in gold production in 2022

Published

16 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has returned to top of gold production on the continent after displacing South Africa following a 32% increase in 2022.

According to the president of the mines chamber, gold output rose to 3.7 million ounces in 2022 from 2.8 million ounces the previous year, as a result of growth in the output of both large and small-scale sectors.

Joshua Mortoti, while addressing members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines at an annual general meeting revealed that “The large-scale gold sub-sector recorded its highest output in the country’s history in 2022.”

He further revealed that the expansion of production at existing mines facilitated the large-scale sector’s gold output up by 13% to 3.1 million ounces last year from 2.7 million ounces in 2021.

Over 77,620 ounces of gold were sold in 2022 under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, a scheme launched by the Bank of Ghana to boost reserves.

Mining is a major economic activity in Ghana and a key contributor to the Ghanaian economy. Gold mining accounted for 48.4% of gross merchandise exports in 2020.