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Why big dam important for Ethiopia?

Why big dam important for Ethiopia?
By Silabat Manaye
In case of Ethiopia ,about 90%of the available water is received mainly in three months.Hence,dams could effectively store water during heavy rain seasons between June to September and to some extent during the short rain.Large storages are,therefore essential.In addition the following advantages could be expected from building big dams in the Blue Nile basin:The flood waters are wasted unless large major dams are constructed,Large dams are eminently suited for carry over storages and thus impart greater reliability and stability to the system,Large dams generate cheap and clean hydro power,Dams provide the most effective way of flood regulation and control.  Large dams are most reliable during drought when small storages run out,and suffer excessive evaporation loss. In drought years the reliability of small dam is very poor. Long life as large silt pockets can be provided. per unit areas stored with big dams is much less as compared to small dams.

Diversion and transfer of surplus water to water scarce basins can be possible only through big dams.Employment potential is higher in large dams throughout the year .In case of small dams there is little employment potential as seasonal rains affect only small local areas .
The imperatives of large water storages was supported by the former President of the World Water Forum Council who stated that’’some 8 000 000 dams (of these 45 000 are major ,higher than 15 meters in height)exist around the world ,delivering energy,flood protection and water for household,industrial and agricultural use”.He further stated that “despite the drawbacks,the world’s growing population and their need for greater economic development call for more water ,in which demand will exceed availability.More and bigger storages will be needed to meet the challenges of development and cultural inheritance and make sure that those people affected by the development of dams will be better off than before the dams were built.While giving special attention to the environmental and displacement issues carefully,Ethiopia should construct large scale dams that :Increase economic and social productivity and hence increase consumption of goods and services,Irrigate 2.2 million ha identified in the basin ,Distributed benefits to millions of inhabitants through employment in mechanized agriculture in the basin,provide better settlement,equipped with socially,economically and technically sound services in the basin for millions and change their life;producing complex hydroelectric power for trade with the trans-boundary countries.
Therefore,Ethiopia needs urgent action on matters concerning the building of major dam structures in the Abbay ,Baro-Akobo and Tekezze catchments and other River basin areas in accordance with some detailed studies and engineering designs.Evidently,Ethiopia has made many valuable studies and design works without much chance of putting them in to action mainly because of lack of funds.
Generally To-date Ethiopia is the least user of the Blue Nile run-off in the Eastern Nile Basin,compared to Sudan and Egypt .At the national level ,economic and institutional capacities are also limited.In spite of many hindrances,Ethiopia should concentrate on the modern agricultural development options,focused on the rivers so that these resources could be utilized to realize a meaningful irrigation programs .

Wolkait shows the injustice of Amhara!

 Wolkait shows the injustice of Amhara!

How painful it is to hear children in Wolkait, mothers whose children have been slaughtered and their husbands mutilated, with their eyes twisted and oppressed all their lives.

Not only hearing but also seeing the remnants of injustice can be devastating. Standing in a mass grave with 40-50 innocent people buried in a pit will carry an unforgettable torment throughout the world. It is unthinkable to hear mothers weeping at their graves every night, not only about their own children, but also about the day workers who were brutally murdered because they did not know them.

We mourned the loss of Maikadran, a land where they had been slaughtered, cut off in front of their children, burned at the stake, and buried.

It is heartbreaking, heartbreaking, and regrettable that all this abuse is a fact that neither the local nor foreign media dared to cover in a few days. Is it possible to hide fire in clothes?

Meaza Mohammed

ወልቃይት የአማራ የግፍ ጥግ ማሳያ!

 ወልቃይት የአማራ የግፍ ጥግ ማሳያ!

በወልቃይት ዘመናቸውን ሙሉ በግፍ እና በጭቆና ጫንቃቸው የጎበጠ አይናቸው እያየ ልጆቻቸው የታረዱባቸው እናቶች የባሎቻቸውን የተቆራረጠ አካል የቀበሩ ሚስቶች የአባታቸው ሰውነት ሲበለት የተመለከቱ ህፃናትን መስማት እንዴት ያማል።

መስማት ብቻም ሳይሆን በአይን የሚታዩ የግፍ ቅሪቶችን መመልከት ከአእምሮ በላይ የሆነ ስብራት ነው። በአንድ ጉድጓድ ከ40-50 ንፁሐን በተቀበሩበት በማይካድራ የጅምላ መቃብር መቆም ዘመንን ሙሉ የማይረሳ ስቃይ ያሸክማል። ስለራሳቸው ልጆች ብቻ ሳይሆን ስለማያውቋቸው በግፍ ስለተገደሉ ቀን ሰራተኞች ጭምር በየቀኑ አመሻሽ ላይ በመቃብር ስፍራው እየተገኙ "እናቶቻችሁ ምን ይሉ ይሆን" እያሉ ስለሚያለቅሱ እናቶች መስማት ደግሞ ከአዕምሮ በላይ ነው።

በህመም ላይ ሳሉ አልጋቸው ላይ የታረዱ፣ ልጆቻቸው ፊት የተቆራረጡ፣ በህይወት እያሉ እሳት የተለቀቀባቸው፣ አጥንታቸው ተለቃቅሞ የተቀበሩባት ምድር ማይካድራን በሀዘን ተሰናበትናት።

ይህ ሁሉ ግፍ ከጥቂት ቀናት ፕሮፖጋንዳ ውጪ የሀገር ውስጥም ሆነ የውጪ ሚዲያዎች ሊናገሩት ያልደፈሩና ይልቁኑ ሆን ብለው የሸፈኑት እውነት መሆኑ ከልብ ያስቆጫል፤ያንገበግባል፤ያስተዛዝባልም፤ እሳትን በልብስ ውስጥ ሸሽጎ መኖር ይቻላል?

Meaza Mohammed

US ‘gravely concerned’ ahead of elections in Ethiopia

 The United States has voiced concerns ahead of Ethiopia’s elections, saying ethnic violence and detentions of opposition figures will raise doubts about the vote’s credibility.

Africa’s second-most populous nation holds elections on June 21 in which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 on promises to break with the authoritarian past, is seeking a new mandate.

But the reputation of the Nobel Peace Prize winner has been tarnished as he has waged a military campaign in the Tigray region, where the United Nations warned on Friday that tens of thousands of children risk starvation.

“The United States is gravely concerned about the environment under which these upcoming elections are to be held,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Friday.

“The detention of opposition politicians, harassment of independent media, partisan activities by local and regional governments and the many inter-ethnic and inter-communal conflicts across Ethiopia are obstacles to a free and fair electoral process and whether Ethiopians would perceive them as credible,” he said.

“The exclusion of large segments of the electorate from this contest due to security issues and internal displacement is particularly troubling.”

Ethiopia’s elections are going ahead after two delays. Last year, election authorities pushed back polls due to the coronavirus pandemic, and then delayed the vote from June 5 due to logistical concerns. 

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