Germany Donates Heavy Waste-Disposal Trucks, Mine Detectors to Ethiopia

www.nazrett.com Home of Ethiopian News and Blog Breaking News Addis Ababa — German Development Bank (KfW) on Thursday handed over seven heavy trucks for urban waste-disposal worth 600 thousand EUR to the City Administrations of Dire Dawa, Gonder, Kombolcha and Awassa. In a related story the Germany embassy here in Addis Ababa announced that the German government has donated 70 mine/metal detectors worth EUR over 150 thousand for the humanitarian demining operations in the Afar, Somali, and Tigray regionsof the country. The trucks were said would enable the four cities to enhance their urban waste management system. "Waste management is an important area of work, especially in growing cities. It leads to dramatic improvement of living condition, not mentioned hygienically issues. Especially in this sector infrastructure has to be accompanied by smart systems of collection, aggregation and side management to be sustainable," said Dr. Claas Dieter Knoop, German Ambassador to Ethiopia, after handing over the keys of the seven heavy trucks to Abuye Aniley, Director General of Urban Development Capacity Building Office at the AMCE/ IVECO compound yesterday. According to the ambassador, significant parts of bilateral cooperation between Ethio-Germany deal with physical infrastructure and machinery. At least as significant is the Institutional Capacity Building in order to make development projects sustainable, he said adding that the trucks would signify one practical impact of Ethio-German Development Cooperation "as it arrives at kebele's level, virtually at the citizen's doorstep." The German embassy said in a statement the mine detectors donation was made in addition to the 117 mine detectors donated to the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO) last year in March and August in support of the ongoing mine action program implemented by EMAO through the United Nations Development Programme's support to Ethiopia. The project started in 2007 and will continue through 2011. During the handing over occasion, the Ambassador affirmed the German government's support for demining in Ethiopia will continue. From January 2007 to June 2009, 20.5 km2 of previously land mine-infested lands were successfully demined by EMAO, representing 94 percent of the total clearance target of 21.7 km2. Almost all safe land released by EMAO has been utilized by over 100 thousand local residents for farming and herding. With regard to cooperation on the cities-level, Germany and Ethiopia have a history of strong cooperation. Only in the last year's government to government negotiations, it was concluded to continue the well established cooperation in the focal area of 'Development of Federalism, Decentralization and Good Local Governance', according to the ambassador. Sustainable Development Since 2004 Urban Development Fund (UDF) funded by (KfW) Development Bank supports eleven cities including: Adigrat, Mekelle, Gondar, Kombolcha, Banir Dar, Jimma, Hawassa, Dilla, Bishoftu, Adama and Dire Dawa, in Ethiopian to improve their urban infrastructure. By doing this, these cities are able to better serve their citizens. The Ministry of Works and Urban Development, particularly Urban Development Capacity Building Office (UDCBO) together with the UDF supports the cities in their Endeavour to implement big infrastructure projects. The cities are responsible for the whole project cycle. They contribute 20 percent of the project costs, whereas 80 percent are covered by KfW Development Bank.