ETHIOPIA ON THE MOVE (FLOW): ONE ETHIOPIA, GERD STRONG!
[For a full version of this commentary, click HERE.]
I was present at the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam (GERD) on February 20, 2022 when the first turbine (#10) kicked into action.
No words can express my feeling of pride, joy, honor and dignity in Ethiopia that day when the GERD produced 375MW of electricity and delivered it to the grid!
On August 11, 2022, the second turbine (#9) kicked into action!
Sitting ten thousands of miles away, I still feel the same pride, joy, honor and dignity in Ethiopia.
I thank the Almighty for this day and for blessing Ethiopia with the River Ghion Abai (“Nile”).
I thank the people of Ethiopia for every penny they paid to make GERD a reality. When the world turned against us, we turned ourselves to the Almighty and to ourselves and made it happen.
I thank the engineers, technicians, laborers and all others who toiled to build the GERD over the past decade.
I thank the Ethiopian National Defense Force and regional militia for their service beyond and above the call of duty.
I thank our GERD negotiators who performed their diplomatic and technical duties with professionalism, skill and ethics.
I thank H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed (Abiy “Aybegere” Ahmed) for is steadfast leadership, meticulous oversight and guidance, insistence on accountability, and innovation; and ultimately for his decisiveness, determination and dedication to the completion of the GERD!
Above all, I thank PM Abiy for being a man of his word.
On June 11, 2018, PM Abiy assured Egyptian President Abdel Fettah Al-Sisi, “Ethiopia has no, no intention whatsoever to harm our brothers and sisters in Egypt over the use of the Abai (“Nile”) waters.”
Today, the GERD protects Sudan and Egypt from destructive floods and neither country has suffered “substantial harm” (legal language), indeed no perceptible harm to their share of Nile waters.
Congratulations to all of us. እንክዋን ደስ አለን !
GERD: One big step for prosperity in Ethiopia, one gigantic leap for African progress!
ETHIOPIA INVICTUS! ETHIOPIA UNCONQERABLE!
ኢትዮጵያ አይበገሬ !
