Heading to Tana-Beles Sugar Project                   Part I

BY WORKU BELACHEW

Phone rang. A visit for the media people to Tana-Beles Integrated Sugar Project (TBISP) held in early last March. And it was a friend who called this writer and said, “Wake up and get ready” from the other end. Since our travel was scheduled at 6:00 am in the morning, every journalist should arrive at Meskel square –the widest public space in Addis Ababa- in a good time. Soon the writer hurried and picked his travelling bag then left home.

A while with carriage-shop owners

One solid hour remained before the schedule when this writer reach Meskel Square. Some privately owned public transport companies use the square as a temporary station. Thus, their conductors approach everyone who sets their feet at the place and ask for which destination travellers booked. Then, the conductors usher travellers to a bus already booked. Unluckily, ours did not yet come, neither did the other colleagues. “Okay let me observe the hustle and bustle until it comes,” the writer told himself and started going around watching the rushing passengers, the busy conductors, and active baby carriage shop owners. Finally he found himself absorbed by the shop owners. Their number exceeds twenty. All were teen age rural boys. They retail commodities such as; cigarette, soft drinks, biscuits, candies, and the likes. According to one of these boys they never sleep at night, as it is their prime business making time.

“We all stay up until four at night around clubs at Bole, [where they sell cigarette, napkins, chewing gum ...] then march to Meskel square,” Said a young boy who rather preferred anonymity, adding he said, he is a grade ten regular student. What a determination! According to this boy he faces tough challenge not from the biological clock that times and controls a person's sleep. “My friends and I have already adapted to a new lifestyle and we are out of the rhythm of sleep. But our challenge is, facing gangs who drunk up to their neck and refuse to pay money after using our commodities.

heading to Bahar Dar

Here in Ethiopia, also in Africa, we value time so badly. Most arrangements are scheduled roughly in the afternoon or in the morning, for instance. But, no one knows which specific time the schedule will be. Delaying by some minute even by hours does not surprise anyone. Similarly, our journey planned to start at six in the morning delayed by more than an hour. Finally, our coordinator made sure that all journalists invited board onto the bus. A confident and very witty driver of Post Bus nick named “Bankeru” (taken from a TV show) started his car's engine and won inertia to begin our ride to Bahar Dar.

A road trip to Bahar Dar, surely, is unforgettable experience to every visitor. As the month we travelled marked the second rainy season of the nation, Belge, the weather has been cool and humid. We also crossed more than a dozen small towns including one of Oromia state towns of Gerbe Guracha where we had our breakfast. As the afternoon hot weather through Gorge of Abay [locally called Abay Bereha] would give a hard time, people prefer to cross this magnificent landscape before noon. By the way, the newly constructed road from Goha-Tsion to Dejen has cut the previous journey which took over two hours into less than an hour. For people who suffer from 'altitude phobia', the Abay Beraha journey would be rather a little pain. But, in absence of that, the unique scenery across and watching the river Abay down the slope, which seems a small water flowing in little storm drainage from distant, has a talismanic power to take all your attention. The looks of the place brought how a prominent Ethiopian author called Dagnachew Worku described a mountainous scenery of a place in his book titled, Adeafris, “ It seems God has stored his extra materials, after building this world,” as roughly translated from the book.

Road centric views

Between mountains, Goha-Tsion and Dejen (around 200 kilometres from Addis), passes River Abay. In this place, in African land you can appreciate the arts of two continents, Asia and Europe. The sixty plus years old bridge over the river Abay had been constructed as a compensation for the war damages Italy had caused during its brief occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s. While the new one,a $14-million state-of-the-art bridge, has been designed and constructed by Japanese firm. It is said the first cable-stayed bridge in east Africa. The late Prime Minster Meles Zenawi named this bridge Hidase, which means “Renaissance”.

                                     Left to right, the old bridge and the new renaissance bridge

While coming close to this bridge do not miss to give a glance to 'beggar monkeys'. One of our colleagues mockingly said, “the monkeys ignore buses that board the low income class as they get nothing from travellers. But, they even salute the few buses that the medium and upper class prefers for the travellers throw them candies, banana....”

The designing of the road in some places may also entice your attention. In an old town called Dangela for instance you can see amazing traffic circle. Obviously, such circles have uses, inter alia, like slowing down the pace of drivers at intersections. In this town, however, a narrow traffic circle (which serves no purpose in the middle of the road) that cannot accommodate even three cyclists at a time late alone the common visitors of the place, heavy trucks and buses creates an obstacle for drivers. Most amazingly there is not intersection in the place or it is a one way road, nor does the road have enough space for a traffic circle. Sadly, this circle has been built contrary to standard road engineering. Hence, it caused a severe accident to a track which was travelling at night and we also witnessed how the accident had been horrific. Employing appropriate road usage, supporting with traffic signs and pavement markings, would remain a task that needs to be included in the list of the town’s pertinent body’s’ assignments.

Though the writer has no authority to criticize road engineering, many say the high way via Bure town has met a standard designing as it passes not through the town. A common sense is enough to understand highways can cause an elevated road traffic accident when they are designed via places with high people's mobility. And vehicles also must run slowly in towns and cities, a conflicting scenario with the objective of building highway.

Water and soil conservation works

As of the eve of the new millennium, reforestation and water and soil conservation works have become prime agendas of both the government and people of Ethiopia. Following that, billions of tree seedlings have been transplanted, though doubts are growing as to the survival of them, and millions of hectares of lands are said to be rehabilitated. No doubt, the endeavor is a noble one. And most degraded lands along our ways, Addis Ababa- Bahar Dar and Enjibra to Jawi, are rehabilitating. Some places in Awi zone for instance are showing promising steps in increasing the forest cover. Also, the biological structure works within farmlands is encouraging. The efforts in other places, however, tell visitors that there is not same awareness in all weredas. There are handfuls of reasons to say so. In some places the crew of journalists passes through the soil and water conservation works did not sustain. In others the physical works already done did not either covered with biological structures or the plants did not survive. Being that the case, starting from Engebra town to Bahar Dar, Eucalyptus tree has substituted most of the farmlands. As construction is in upward trajectory in Bahar Dar and in its nearby towns, Eucalyptus' demand has grown. Plus, the short return the species gives may also attract as many farmers to shift their attention. But, unless the cultivation gains expertise supports it surely leaves its negative impacts on the farm lands sooner or later.

The five day long visit to Tana-Beles Integrated Sugar Project did not opportune us to enjoy the pleasant City, Bahar Dar. By the way our while in the city had been just a haphazard which made us pay costs in terms of time. There was not need to go to Bahar Dar as the road to the project branches at Enjibara. We need to drive over 70 kilometres from this town to Bahar Dar, means our journey increased by over 140 kilometres. Then we headed to the project site but unluckily we lost our way and drive twenty kilometres again to a wrong direction. This has given us lessons as lack of coordination is still a challenge we need to discard.