AfricaU.S. Effort to Block Ethiopian Dam Recalls Legacy of British ColonialismBy Lisa Vives, Global Information NetworkNEW YORK (IDN) – Based on guidance from President Trump, the State Department is suspending $130 million in security-related aid to Ethiopia over a nearly-completed dam that would lift Ethiopia from poverty and end the shadow of British colonialism that favoured Egypt. Programs on the chopping block include security assistance, counterterrorism and military education and training, anti-human trafficking programs, and broader development assistance funding, congressional aides said. When fully completed, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – Africa’s largest hydroelectric project – would be a game-changer for Ethiopia where some 65 million Ethiopians, comprising 40-45% of the population, have no access to electricity. Plus, it would contribute to transforming neighbouring South Sudan, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia and Tanzania with desperately needed electrical power. By 2013, Egyptians at a secret meeting were caught on a hot mike proposing to simply destroy the dam altogether.

Source: Ethiopian News September 15, 2020 01:07 UTC