Ethiopian dam not to blame for South Sudan floods, says minister

JUBA, NOV. 6, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Pal Mai Deng, has dismissed claims that the multi-billion-dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the cause of the devastating floods that have plagued the country for the past four years.

Some South Sudanese, including government officials, have attributed the floods, which have affected two-thirds of the country and displaced an estimated 900,000 people, to the construction and operation of GERD.

In January 2021, then-Upper Nile State Governor Abudhok Anyang claimed that GERD is blocking water flow, causing water blocked on the Ethiopian highlands to return to the Sobat River in Upper Nile State, leading to floods.

“These floods are caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The GERD is blocking the water, and the water returns back to cause flooding through the Sobat River and that is why Upper Nile State as a whole is in floods,” he said at the time.

However, Minister Deng has strongly refuted these claims, attributing the floods to climate change and global warming, which have affected the world at large.

“This is a complete misperception,” Deng asserted. “The floods that we have been having in South Sudan through these four years do not have any connection to the construction of GERD. This is a direct impact of climate change.”

Deng emphasized the global nature of climate change, citing examples of drought in Somalia, cyclones in Madagascar and Mozambique, and floods in Libya, all of which are not associated with infrastructure projects in the region.

“So, the cause of these floods and torrential rains in South Sudan are completely a direct effect of climate change,” Deng reiterated. “They are a result of global warming. South Sudan is located in the heart of the Nile Basin.”

Deng further explained that South Sudan’s position as a downstream country to Central African Republic, DRC, Uganda, and Ethiopia, and its lack of dams for water regulation, contribute to the flooding.

“Water from the region comes and collects in South Sudan,” Deng explained. “And because of too much rain, the volume of water also increases, and that also becomes very destructive.”

The senior government official further emphasized that the floods in South Sudan are a direct consequence of climate change and not the result of the GERD project.