The parliament administration rejected member of parliament Ahmed El-Berdesi’s inquiry to question Minister of Foreign Affiars Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations.
The MP told Daily News Egypt that he is not satisfied with the GERD negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia, and that Egypt is not dealing with the crisis properly. No actions have been taken against intransigence from the Egyptian side, which definitely harms Egypt’s interest, he added.
El-Berdesi said that the negotiations are treated as if this is an inconsequential matter, and criticised Ethiopia’s performance throughout the process.
Parliamentary general secretary Ahmed Saad El-Din said the inquiry does not meet the terms determined by parliamentary regulation and by the Constitution regarding inquiries. The state and the government are the only authorities responsible for this issue, he asserted.
According to El-Berdesi, when he asked the parliament’s administration to provide information on how to word his request according to constitutional regulations, he received no response.
Saad El-Din added that the inquiry did not provide any evidence to prove that the Egyptian side is “lacking” regarding the negotiations. He stressed that the negotiations are serious and are going well.
The MP noted that the statements by both ministers do not offer much hope of the crisis being solved immediately, especially as the structural design of the dam is unsafe, and the water and environmental studies are incomplete, according to independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.
On the other hand, Ethiopian parliamentary speaker Abdel Aulla Gemeda said Friday that they will not allow Egypt to suffer any negative impacts from the GERD and confirmed that negotiations are on the right track, praising Egypt’s performance. He made his comments to the Egyptian political aide to the Pan-African Parliament’s speaker and MP Mostafa El-Gendy, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.
