Sudan’s Merowe Dam affected call for ‘new government’

The head of the Merowe Dam Victims Association has demanded an immediate solution for the people affected by the building of the dam. He further called for nationwide reforms, to be realised by a new, transitional government.

In a statement on Thursday, Retired Col. El Tayeb Mohamed El Tayeb said that addressing the grievances of the people affected by the dam is “a matter of more necessity than the National Dialogue”.

The Merowe Dam, also known as the Hamadab Dam, was officially launched in 2010. It doubled Sudan’s electricity generation but displaced more than 50,000 people, most of them of the Manaseer tribe, from the Nile Valley to arid desert locations. Protests have been violently suppressed.

Referring to the confiscation of lands for the sake of the Merowe dam for which the inhabitants have not been compensated, El Tayeb demanded the confiscation of the properties of the ruling National Congress Party leaders.

“New courts with a revolutionary nature would then try those who have corrupted the political and economic life in Sudan,” he said.

“After that a transitional government is to be established for the period of three years that should realise political and social reforms throughout the country, after which a general election is to be held.”

'Fed up'

Leaders of the Manaseer tribe earlier this year threatened to stop their negotiations with the government.

“We will cut the negotiations on the compensation we are entitled to, if the government does not agree to our demands,” a member of the Merowe Dam Victims Association told Radio Dabanga in March.

He said that they were “fed up” with the delay by the Sudanese government in “meeting its obligations” concerning the completion of land surveys, settlement on arbitration cases, and the rest of the compensation for the properties lost by the construction of the dam.