Taps Run Dry In Somali Region Amid Unattended Corruption Allegations And Unfinished Water Projects

1.4 bln birr clean water project inaugurated six months ago idle in Jigjiga

Residents and partisan officials in the Somali Regional State have aired their grievances over a number of water supply and dam projects that have failed to function despite billions of birr in government expenditure and lavish inauguration ceremonies.

The complaints have raised alarms about corruption and inefficiency in the regional administration, although Somali is by no means the exception in rising reports of systemic corruption across the country.

The residents of Jigjiga, the administrative seat, say they consider themselves lucky if water flows from their taps even once a week, with the problem stretching back several months.

This is despite the inauguration of a 1.4 billion birr clean water project for Jigjiga inaugurated at the end of July 2024. Senior officials, including regional President Mustafa Omar, attended the ceremony, while the project was the subject of praise from the Prime Minister last year.

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The drawn-out project has its roots in the EPRDF regime, which began its construction but was unable to finalize it. It was revived under Mustafa’s administration, which awarded the contract to the Chinese contractor China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). three-and-a-half years ago.

It was slated for completion within a 12-month period but further delays meant it was only finalized six months ago.

During the inauguration, it was stated that the water line would supply Jigjiga from no less than 11 wells and reservoirs located in Fafen, some 47 kilometers from the regional capital. The reservoirs were touted to each hold between 500 and 5,000 cubic meters of clean water.

The government had also announced that the project had doubled Jigjiga’s water supply. Prior to the inauguration, the city’s residents got clean water from aged facilities at Shakali Gure and Yofe Da’ata. Those facilities have all but ceased to function as a result of lack of maintenance.

Nonetheless, the new project has failed to function as promised, leaving Jigjiga’s residents with an inadequate supply of clean water.

“The new clean water project for Jigjiga was carried out with substandard materials. You can see the unfunctional pipes laid outside. None of the project’s materials are functional now. The talk of eleven wells and reservoirs is also untrue,” a source close to the matter told The Reporterspeaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“The project was highly exposed to corruption because it had no proper supervision and oversight,” said the source.

The residents of the Gobiere, Abayfulan and Anfarta kebeles and Aw-Bare Woreda surrounding Jigjiga have also been struggling to access clean water for several years.

To add to the troubles, a water supply project in Degehabur, which kicked off nearly 15 years ago with a sizable budget of 800 million birr, has yet to be finalized. The new regional administration had pledged to wrap up the project within a 20-month period, but Degehabur is still without adequate access to clean water.

Another water supply project in Shilabo Woreda, where government officials had laid the cornerstone three years ago, also remains incomplete.

A 40 million birr water infrastructure project means for seven kebeles in Wangey Woreda and initiated in 2021, as well as others in places like Harewa and Selehadwangey, round out the list of projects that were kicked off with fanfare and government pledges only to have nothing to show for it today, according to sources and documents obtained from the region’s administration.

The Gode clean water project, which started five years ago with a budget of 475 million birr and wrapped up two years later, remains the only successful example in the Somali region.

“This is because the financiers of the Gode project include the federal government and World Bank,” said an insider. The regional administration contributed 120 million birr to the Gode clean water project.

Still, sources told The Reporter the project, which was inaugurated by the PM, was also exposed to corruption.

Hassen Mohammed, head of the Somali Water Bureau, and his deputy, Abdulkadir Bashir, did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Reporter.

However, according to the Somali Communication Bureau, clean water supply coverage for the estimated 25 million residents of the region has reached 51 percent, up from 19 percent five years ago. Data from the Bureau indicates that 13 water projects in Jigjiga and 29 in other parts of the region have been finalized over the same period.

Documents and information obtained by The Reporter indicate that corruption is also running rampant in water infrastructure projects in the neighboring Oromia Regional State. Most prominent among the reports is the delay of five water projects in the Borena Zone, which remain incomplete 15 years and billions of birr down the road.

The outcome of the delays was Borena’s struggle with five consecutive years of drought, which led to the deaths of people and huge numbers of livestock.

Sources claim that Chinese contractors are allegedly involved in corruption in the construction industry, as well as foul play in public procurement procedures.

Correction

In an article headlined ‘Taps run dry in Somali region amid unattended corruption allegations and unfinished water projects’ and published last week, we mistakenly cited that Chinese construction firm CCCC was awarded the contract for the Jigjiga clean water project.

We have since verified that the contractor on that project was the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The Reporter extends its sincere apologies for the error and any confusion or inconvenience it may have caused.