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| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110929 | |||||
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| at the Signing Ceremony for Two Grant Contracts for Bridge Construction and Water Supply in SNNPR on 29 September, 2011 | |||||
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Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Endmen Walachehu. It is a most pleasant duty for me to sign grant contracts for grassroots human security projects with prominent project partners in SNNPR. The first project is to construct a bridge over the Bonora River in the Bensa Woreda, Sidama Zone with funding of about USD112,000. It aims to improve the access of residents to economic and social services across the river. Our project partner is the Sidama Zone Administration, represented here today by Ato Million Watios. The planned bridge of reinforced concrete is 26.4m in length and 5.6m in width and good for vehicles as well as pedestrians and animals. In the rainy season the Bonora River is flooded from time to time, causing serious damage to a small and fragile bridge built by the community. As a result, human traffic and transport of commodities across the river are interrupted, which creates great difficulty in the daily lives of residents in the Shenit Awenw, Bomibe and Huro Hibiro Kebeles. The residents depend on Daye town, the capital of the woreda across the river, for major economic and social services such as markets, health and education. Therefore, they have to take a long detour, walking an extra 30km to reach Daye each time the bridge becomes unusable. In addition, the temporary bridge is small, carrying only pedestrians and animals and does not serve road traffic, which would enhance agricultural marketing and commercial transactions across the river. These are the reasons why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. I hope that the new Abore Bridge will improve the living conditions and increase economic opportunities for the 40,000 residents in the said three villages. I am sure that with this bridge they will be ensured better access to various economic and social services throughout the year, and that economic activities will be vitalized across the river, benefiting the entire Bensa Woreda. Bensa is one of the major Sidama coffee producing areas with 36 coffee factories and has the potential of economic development. The second project I would like to introduce is to develop a water supply system in the Dara Woreda, Sidama Zone with funding of about USD112,000. It aims to improve the access of residents to safe water and thereby to reduce water-borne diseases. Our project partner is the Resurrection and Life Development Organization, an Ethiopian NGO active in the Sidama Zone, represented here today by Ato Belachew Lemma. Access to potable water has substantially improved in Ethiopia during the PADSEP period (2005/06 - 2009/10), increasing from 35% to 65.8% in rural areas on average. In many local communities, however, this is still a great challenge, and the Kebado Kebele, the capital of the Dara Woreda, is no exception. In this village, access to potable water remains less than 20% while it is 43.6% in the entire Dara Woreda. Today, only one water supply system is available there, constructed by the local government 29 years ago. Due to a population increase, the potable water supply is not sufficient for the current demand as the population has increased to 8,365 while it was only 500 three decades ago. Thus, many of the residents have no choice but to use unprotected spring and river water far from their residences. As a result, those residents, especially women and children, are not only forced to undertake the heavy duty of fetching water, walking long distances, but also face the risk of suffering from water-borne diseases such as diarrhea helmentis and giardia. This is the reason why the Embassy of Japan decided to recommend this project to Tokyo for approval. In this project, one bore hole dug by the Sidama Zone Water and Energy office two years ago will be utilized to develop a new water supply system. A submerged pump and a generator will be installed, a generator house, a 50-square meter water reservoir and two water distribution points with 6 faucets will be constructed, and a 3,524m water pipeline will be installed. I hope that this water supply system will benefit 4,000 residents in the Kebado Kebele who currently depend on unprotected water. They will be able to enjoy safe water and will be relieved from the heavy duty of fetching water and also from the risk of water-borne diseases. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is gratifying for us that the two projects will be managed by reliable partners in the coming months. They will be conducive to the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized people in need, contributing to the economic and social development of rural areas. In this connection, I would like to remind our project partners that the projects should be implemented on schedule, with my staff in charge well informed of the progress. It is also critically important that the benefits of the projects should be enjoyed by people in the respective local communities. One of the characteristics of grassroots human security projects is that they are directly beneficial to residents. Through this scheme, the Embassy of Japan will continue to serve to improve the economic and social welfare of underprivileged people in rural areas of Ethiopia. Amesegenalehu. |
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