Sisi signs Pledge to Protect the River Nile

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed on Tuesday a pledge to protect the river Nile, according to a presidential statement.

Sisi met with irrigation minister Hossam Moghazy to sign the document, which aims to protect the ancient river from pollution and “other illegal practices”, according to presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, several other ministers and public figures previously signed the pledge to protect the river in early January.

The irrigation ministry is to launch a related public awareness campaign.

So far, the ministry has recorded up to 10,000 violations on Nile waters, as well as related canals and drainage ditches, including 2,880 on the river itself, said Moghazy.

A number of “encroachments” have also reportedly been removed in a number of governorates in Upper Egypt, the Nile Delta and Cairo.

Many social clubs, hotels, private houseboats and fish farms are located on the banks of the Nile, with property extending along its waters.

At their Tuesday meeting, al-Sisi and Moghazy also discussed the latest developments regarding Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project.

The dam is currently being built on the Blue Nile, one of the Nile’s two tributaries, sparking fears that, once it starts operating, it will reduce Egypt’s water share from the river.

Source: Ahram Online