An Ethiopian official has firmly rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US largely funded the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Fikrte Tamir, a deputy director of the GERD Coordination Office, dismissed the statement as “false and destructive,” emphasizing that the $4 billion megadam was financed entirely through local contributions. Ethiopians bought bonds, donated salaries, and rallied globally to support the project, which began generating power in 2022 and was finally completed this month. Trump’s repeated assertions have stirred controversy, especially given GERD’s geopolitical sensitivity with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan, which have criticized the dam for reducing the water flowing into the Nile River. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government has not provided an official response to Trump’s comments.
BBC
