This photo shows some heavy trucks transporting Egyptian dredging machines arriving at Sudan-South Sudan border of Unity state - Courtesy

A world-renowned expert on the Nile waters has called on South Sudan to stop the dredging project saying it is not in the interest of South Sudanese.

Professor Tag Elkhazin who has over 50 years of experience in water resource management said the government will otherwise be committing treason against its citizens.

Elkhazin advised that South Sudanese debate carefully on the matter before embarking on the project.

This is because he says, it is in the interest of a foreign country, not South Sudanese interest.

Elkhazin was speaking during a virtual presentation on Jonglei Canal and water resources in South Sudan.

“My recommendation is that South Sudan should start a debate on where will South Sudan fit in the Nile Basin Initiative? Stop Dredging, this is not the time,” said Prof. Elkhazin.

“What does Dredging do? What is positive and what is negative? What is positive is that… it discharges more water into the main river,

“What is negative is when the discharged water is not for the benefit of the people, and the nation, but for the benefit of another nation. That is what is negative and it’s a crime,

“Allowing Dredging of the tributaries so that the discharges go into the Nile and it goes up to the Delta, is a crime against the rights of the people of South Sudan,”

“The impact of Dredging is everlasting, that is the problem, once you Dredge that SUDD, the water flows and you lose it, finish.”

“When the Egyptians are looking South, they don’t see people, they don’t see the land, they only see water, you got to be careful about that.”

Prof. Elkhazin said messing with Bahr el Ghazal Basin or Sobat Basin is a crime.

“Messing with Bahr El Ghazal or Sobat Basin will be committing High treason. You [South Sudanese] need to rally all the forces and be hands-off.  This is not an issue for one or two people regardless of where their position is, you mess around with these two basins, they are properties of the people of South Sudan,”  Prof. Elkhazin said.

“The Egyptians can’t come to dredge Sue which is under the Jur River and they want to Dredge the western swamps and they want to Dredge Sobat and what they give is a hospital or dispensary, or a diesel generator, those are not benefits. So, we don’t want the people of South Sudan to be taken for a ride.”

The Nile waters expert pointed out that flooding is seasonal and should not be a reason to drain the Sudd tributaries that will have an everlasting environmental impact.

He stated that the Nile Hydro-Politics is not an issue for politicians to play with, saying it is an issue of National Security.

Prof. Elkhazin said the Nile waters are not an issue for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation alone, saying it is part of the natural resources of South Sudan.

He suggested the formation of an all-party parliamentary committee on Water Resources, Environment, and Ecology.

The Sudanese-born-Canadian citizen also called for the appointment of knowledgeable legal advisors to the Ministry of Water Resources, but accountable to the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

He urged South Sudan to have a policy on how to deal with the SUDD waters, sell it, keep the rights, and do nothing for now.

Prof. Elkhazin trained and worked in Sudan, Sweden, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Nigeria, Chad, Nigeria, Canada, and the United Kingdom in Water Resources, Human Resources, and Implementation of Infra Structural and Energy Projects.

He is frequently doing conflict analysis on Darfur, west Sudan, and North-South Sudan issues.