Of Eucalyptus and Concrete

Following the sun home, I am presently awaiting my final 2-hour flight home from Toronto on Tuesday, and can reflect back on this past 1.5 weeks.  I have written much on the human and cultural aspects, and only hinted at the extraordinary boom that is taking place here.  And there is much local buzz over a planned visit to Ethiopia by President Obama (though I have not heard the kindest local commentary on his leadership), the first by an American President.  So what will he see?

Long view of just one southwest suburb - a sea of construction

Certainly he will see the magnificent African Union complex, the political centroid of  the African continent.  Or the United Nations outpost, and perhaps will walk the shop floor of the American Embassy and its 1300 employees that he helped build.  I hope he does so on his likely-to-be-whirlwind visit.  But I hope he also sees what I have seen and heard - a country building itself into a modern, educated and productive workforce.

Typical multistory scaffolding

I am certain he can peer out of any porthole he wants on Air Force One, but when he approaches Bole International Airport, what will appear is a sea of grey concrete skeletons popping up across this brown and vaguely green landscape, like a Halloween scare scene in a cemetery.  There is no place to turn in this vast, sprawling city without seeing construction - it is everywhere: up, down and across this bubbling cauldron.  Frankly, it is as massive a reconstruction effort as I have ever seen.

To put everything in perspective, it is the most populated land-locked country in the world,  nearly 95 million people, with a growth rate around 2.6%, and of that, nearly 45% is between the ages of 16 and 35, 87% of the population attends school, and 85% of the population is involved in agriculture, according to local sources and the World Bank. This is largely due to historical reasons resulting from a former USSR backed communist government (1974-1991) famine, and civil war with Eritrea.  According to the World Bank, despite growth, Ethiopia has one of the lowest GDP's in the world at $47.53 billion, and indicates 30% of the population lives at the poverty level.   Average annual income stands at around $470.  An Oxford University study concluded that Ethiopia was the second poorest country in the world after Niger.  Rural areas have very high poverty rates (96%) while urban areas are around 20%.  And by 2060 population is expected to well exceed 200 million.

Typical shoring for floor formwork

And 40% of the federal budget is being allocated to rebuilding the country, with much of the major infrastructure improvements financed and built by the Chinese.  I have met with the Ethiopian Road Authority, the Ethiopian Railway Corporation, and several other agencies.  The sheer volume of work now and into the future is staggering, with huge projects and investment anticipated.

Note the ramp - no crane or hoist

There is a chronic lack of indigenous management and skill to execute the present and future projects.  According to my colleagues, nearly every project built is over-budget, over-due, and under-built in terms of quality.  It is simply a way of life right now - expected even, but likely the cause of so many half finished works that run out of poorly estimated funding needs. I have availed myself the opportunity as we drove everywhere in this city and countryside, to note the means and methods used to build some very tall structures.  Field mixed concrete, poorly placed with many voids.  And the concept of level and square is mostly elusive.  Eucalyptus trunks reign absolutely supreme and a method of formwork, 10 story high, very spindly scaffolding, ramps, and all manner of devices to execute the work.  And this 10 story structure could take three years to complete. And it is unsafe.

Wood ramp - typical

One Ministry building we visited was less than ten years old, looked like fifty, was of such poor quality and poorly maintained, I nearly tripped on the stairs as they were of unequal height.  And building codes?  Apparently the present code is nearly 50 years old.  Most buildings, even high-rises, have only one staircase to exit the structure in case of emergency, with inadequate handrails, if any at all.  Of course all of this would never pass in the United States or Europe, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, it is important to look at things with a local lens.

Lack of knowledge, plentifully available cheap, willing labor, make this all possible.  And what makes me saddest is to see workers clambering over this rickety scaffolding, with no tie off to prevent a fall to certain death.  It is apparently fairly common.  Yesterday, I even spotted a man painting the outside wall above the third floor windows, 

The lumberyard - all Eucalyptus sticks!

stretching as far as he could, perched on a ledge, one hand holding on to the top of the window opening, and one holding a roller brush stretching as far as he could. Makes me sad to think that the desperation for a single birr in wages is greater than the cost of personal safety ignored.

How can this change?   Through education and international partnerships such as I just finished researching this past week, that hopefully, gradually will raise all boats in the wild sea of development.

These workers - over 10 stories up, no rails, no fall protection

And many projects are abandoned - no money

Ethiopians, it seems to me, are a proud people, especially of their very long, continuous heritage, culturally diverse, and generally a social, friendly lot.  Yes, there is crime, bad neighborhoods, spooks, beggars are there are in every other place, but surprisingly few guns (unlike Honduras) except on just a few police.  Hopefully President Obama recognizes the accomplishments of these proud  people, where they have come from, where they are going, the diversity and stability of this population, surrounded as they are by less fortunate nation states in terms of security.  Let's hope he encourages us to be and remain a true partner to their rising prosperity and security, without hollow promises.

They are deserving of our help - and my help.

Selam and amesegenallo to my new Ethiopian friends.  Until we meet again . . .