President Donald Trump of the United States has cut $100 million in aid to Ethiopia over a dispute involving the construction of a mega-dam on the River Nile.
There are speculations that the cut was triggered by Ethiopia’s move to start filling the dam before reaching an agreement with Egypt and Sudan.
Ethiopia had also rejected a U.S-led mediation with the two countries, confirming fears that the U.S is biased and backed Egypt in the talks.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for more than 90% of its freshwater supplies, has long been opposed to any development on the Nile that could reduce the amount of water it receives for drinking and agriculture.
Ethiopia says it needs the dam to provide reliable electricity supply and wants to construct the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – GERD – to provide power to up to 65 million Ethiopians.
GERD will be the largest hydro-electric plant in Africa
The U.S aid cut comes just over a month after Ethiopia announced that it has started withholding water in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd).
The funding affected is linked to nutrition, regional or border security, political competition and consensus-building.
It, however, would not affect funding for projects connected to HIV/AIDS, migration and refugee assistance, and the food for peace programme.