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| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110829 | |||||
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| at the Handing-over Ceremony of Goods and Equipment for Water Supply at the Ministry of Water and Energy on 29 August, 2011 |
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| Your Excellency Ato Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Water and Energy, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Endemen Aderachehu. It is a great pleasure for me to attend this handing-over ceremony of goods and equipment for an Emergency Water Supply Program. This program has been implemented, based upon the grant agreement signed between our two Governments in April 2009. For this program, the Japanese Government extended 800 million Japanese Yen [about 175 million ETB at the current exchange rate] to the Ethiopian Government. The amount was allocated to procure goods and equipment needed for water supply projects. They include water purification chemicals, portable water treatment plants, plastic water tanks, water tank lorries, a bulldozer, a trailer, drilling rigs, cargo trucks with cranes, air compressors and a service rig. Training for operating and maintaining these items will also be provided. This program is conducive to Ethiopia’s efforts to address climate change with a special emphasis on “adaptation” to its effects. More specifically, the program aims to strengthen the regional capacities for water supply and management, namely in Tigray, Oromia, Afar, Amhara, Somali and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional States (SNNPR). Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Water Sector Development Program [WSDP 2002-2016] designated the task of making potable water available and ensuring sanitation as one of the top national and regional agendas. The WSDP, in line with the then governing national plans, made progress in achieving its goal. During the five years of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty [PASDEP 2006-2010], access to potable water increased from 35% to 65.8% in rural areas and from 80% to 91.5% in urban areas. As a result, national access to potable water improved from 36% to 68.5%. It was an impressive achievement, but not sufficient. Similarly, for the coming five years of the Growth and Transformation Plan[GTP 2011-2015], it is planned to raise potable water supply coverage from 65.8% to 98% in rural areas and from 91.5% to 100% in urban areas. If these goals are achieved, then national access to potable water will improve from 68.5% to 98.5%. This plan is ambitious, and concerted efforts will be required by both the Ethiopian Government and its development partners. Japan, as a long standing supporter of the water sector, will remain firm to support the implementation of the program. Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, Since 2005, Japan has been engaged in water supply and management in five regions with funding of 4.552 billion Japanese Yen [about 994 million ETB], namely in Amhara, Afar, Oromia, Tigray and SNNPR. Last year, Japan also provided a grant for improving equipment for groundwater development, amounting to 557 million Japanese Yen [about 122 million ETB]. In addition to the provision of water supply goods and equipment, the development of human resources in this field is critical. In 1998, Japan assisted Ethiopia in establishing the Ethiopian Water Technology Center [EWTEC], the first of its kind in Africa to enroll and train water engineers, gathered not only from Ethiopia but also from other African countries. Since its establishment, EWTEC has provided professional training for more than 2,700 water engineers, out of whom 2,455 are from various parts of Ethiopia. Finally, I would like to share some of my wishes with you. I strongly desire that the goods and equipment that have just been handed-over will be used effectively and efficiently so that they will contribute to improving the livelihoods of residents in the respective regions. This is all the more important today, when water is scarce in some areas due to the worst drought in the past six decades. Amesegenalehu! |
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