Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water, Sanitation May -June 2014 Vol.9 No.3 | Page 8

NEWS in brief

Around Africa

collected during the first quarter of this year, for its
internally generated funds.

AfDB Meet Calls for Equity in Water Use

He urged heads of departments and other stakeholders in
the district to work hard to contribute to the efficient and
effective development in the district.

Kenya
Tarda to Build Dam for Nyandarua Water
The Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority will
build a multi-million shilling dam in the Aberdares to supply
water in the drier parts of Nyandarua county.
The dam will supply water in Ndaragwa sub- county and
selected areas of Laikipia county bordering Nyandarua,
according to an agreement between Tarda and Nyandarua
Governor Waithaka Mwangi.
“Tarda will work with the county government of
Nyandarua not only in developing water projects but
also in rehabilitating water catchment areas to ensure the
protection of the environment,” Tarda chairman Abdul Ali
said. He said Nyandarua is animportant water catchment
area and a source of water to many counties.
The Tarda Chairman said there is need to invest in the
protection of the environment and the water catchment
area.

Namibia
Rainfall Figures Confirm End of Drought

Experts from the just concluded African Development Bank
(AfDB) annual meetings have said that even with declining
rainfall and unpredictable climate, African governments can
still effectively manage and provide clean water.
The observation was made during a session dubbed
‘Building Water Resilience,’ where experts and government
officials reflected on water-related challenges that Africa
faces today and how they can be dealt with.
Key issues ranged from cooperation between countries that
share same water bodies to water security.
“We can’t ignore the fact that water contributes highly to
national economy. There are many public goods embedded
in water, but the question here is how effective can it be
allocated? The answer to this is devising a way in which
the public sector can work with the private sector in water
resource management and exploitation,” said Prof Mike

Around Africa

Muller, the
Infrastructure
Advisor,
Development
Bank
of
Southern
Africa.

Rwanda

Mr Amoako Attah Fosu, presiding member, commended
the Assembly members for their unity and co-operation
towards its deliberations and activities.

NEWS in brief

M u l l e r
cited
the
construction
of Rusumo
Governments have the responsibility to provide clean
hydro power
water
plant as one
of the few examples where the private sector has been
involved in water management through involvement of
local people in the construction of the plant.
The high rate of urbanization is another challenge. Latest
reports indicate that over 400 million Africans live in urban
areas - close to 40% of Africa’s population. In 50 years,
about 65% of Africans will be living in urban areas.
To survive, governments have the prime responsibility
of providing reliable water supply, however, they face
challenges in exploiting cross-border water bodies.
“The challenge with cooperation is the imbalance of water
consumption between the upstream and downstream
countries. If countries fail to cooperate, they should use
the law to test the international coo