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As a member of an envoy representing the Ministry of
Information, I once had the opportunity to visit
Tehartown, the capital where the White and the Blue
Nile confluence. We toured some distance along the
River Nile on a ferryboat and were able to see two
rivers flow together in one course, each without
losing its identity. I noticed that our Abay (Ghion)
- or the Blue Nile as it is known - is not blue at
all. In fact, I could see a brownish-white water
body superimposed on the White Nile and flowing down
stream.
It was not difficult to recognize that the Blue Nile
was transporting a luggage of fertile soil which the
down stream countries have possibly made good use of
for thousands of years before they built massive
dams and started complaining abut too much silt from
Ethiopia. Although the confluence site was scenic, I
did not feel nostalgic while seeing my country's
river thousands of kilometres away in a foreign
land.
Actually, I felt ashamed, albeit for a short time,
to be a part of an era of people who talk, regret
and relay the problem of famine and drought from one
generation to the next, while the Blue Nile and the
other transboundary rivers flow unperturbed by the
numerous conferences, discussions, vows and pledges.
Talking of conferences on water, I recall an
interesting anecdote mentioned during the 5th Nile
2002 Conference held from Feb 24-27, here in one the
UNECA Conference Halls. Close to 300 participants
from the riparian countries took part; they were
drawn from financial agencies and international
water related institutions from all over the world.
At one session, while the Ethiopian envoy was
presenting its case and emphasizing the country's
perennial shortage of water, and hence of power, the
electric light went off for a couple of seconds.
Like a cheer master, I was the first to seize the
opportunity (and the microphone I should add) and
crack a joke, saying: " the facts speak for
themselves." I could see that the message I tried to
convey was not wasted. Many of the participants
promptly cheered. My role as cheer leader was
accomplished, I believe.
That series of Nile 2002 Conferences have been over
for some time and have been replaced by yet another
series of conferences which seem much closer to
taking initiatives - through the cooperation between
riparian countries - towards equitably utilizing the
water of the Nile basin.
We are gripped by the overwhelming problem of a
shortage of water. The Addis Abeba Water and
Sewerage Authority seems to be forced into providing
water for the city using a rotational system. The
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC), which
generates much of its power from water, similarly
has implemented a strategy of water rationing
throughout the country. For a rain-fed agrarian
country like Ethiopia, adequate and timely rainfall
is a crucial, basic requirement for survival.
"Water is life," Gabi, a hydrologist by profession
and an MSC graduate from India, told his students,
who seemed to be uninterested in the subject. They
had listened to such futile lectures time and again.
"Water means life. Be it for domestic use, for
hydropower generation, for harvesting fish or for
agricultural irrigation. In short, water is a great
preserver of life."
This information was more than one student, Abdosh,
could possibly bear. "Water is also a killer if you
don't mind my interruption," he quipped. Abdosh had
recently transferred from Dire Dawa. He had a point
to his argument. 'Two years ago, as you all know,
River Dechatu overflowed, flooding a large sector of
the city, and sweeping hundreds of people away. The
present cyclone, which was followed by floods, has
claimed thousands of lives, to mention but a few
examples of water fatalities." Abdosh had not missed
the point of the lecture, but what he wanted to
highlight was the fact that water also causes
danger, and even death.
This year, the much needed rains seem to remain
locked up in the sky. Could this be the reason for
rationing? Undoubtedly, there is currently a
shortage of water, although one finds it very
difficult to attribute this shortage to the belated
season of light showers that are said to be
augmenting the overall supply of only 10-15 per
cent. This raises the basic question of how much
water is enough to cater for all of our needs.
I posed a question to Gabi: "How much water is
enough for our country?" He did not answer me
directly, explaining that there are certain basic
issues to look at before trying to quantify our
requirement. "The population growth and the change
in the life styles of urban people are matters not
to be ignored. Irrigation agriculture, particularly
in the field of horticulture, is increasing at an
accelerated rate.
"The change in climate is also a factor one cannot
ignore as it affects the volume of supply which is
said to be not more than 110 billion cubic metres of
annual fresh water replenishment," Gabi went on,
bringing in specifics about the demand of water for
domestic use, agriculture and power production.
These needs keep on growing and as the population
grows, water consumption increases.
The obvious shortage is just one issue, misuse and
abuse of water is another. Effective planning and
management of the available supply of water is very
crucial. In line with this, the disposal of polluted
water, a great health hazard, is also a concern that
requires serious consideration if we have to protect
the environment.
There are many arguments for and against the use of
water for manufacturing purposes, for example, the
huge volumes of water needed to come up with
products like bottled or draft beer. People query
the wisdom of brewing alcoholic beverages when the
supply of potable water is at its lowest ebb. This
argument definitely bears substance, but one also
has to think about the fate of the workers who earn
a livelihood from such factories.
So there must be some sort of balance, a trade-off
as it were. Many factories are presently operating
below capacity due to the frequent power
interruptions to the set schedule. This costs the
factories not only in terms of production, but also
financially as workers have to be paid for the extra
hours worked as over-time in order to make up for
the lost time.
The flower mills have raised their tariffs. There is
much talk about the rising cost of living,
particularly of food. Some government officials have
resigned as a result of social unrest and popular
protests. The price of oil has reached an all time
high. Could this possible be the last straw to break
the water's back?
We ultimately depend on water for our survival.
These problems that we have emphatically vowed to
resolve time and time again still rage on, and yet
the Nile flows quietly on.
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