The Impediments to Building the Common Infrastructure in the Horn of Africa by Daniel Kendie

The infrastructure affects growth and development. It assists in coping with population growth, in improving environmental conditions, in raising output and in lowering production costs. It also helps to diversity production and to expand trade. Safe water is essential for everything. The provision of energy and hydro-electricity is a must for development. In effect, the infrastructure opens the path to sustained growth. If we relate all this to the Horn of Africa, we will discover that the countries of the sub-region have not made any appreciable headway in building the common infrastructure because of the legacy of unresolved conflicts. Since so many interest groups are also involved in their conflicts, no solution seems to be in sight. Among the conflicts are the territorial disputes between Somalia and Ethiopia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, Kenya and Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea. In a situation where the governments of the sub-region do not therefore even have normal working relationships, to propose that the common infrastructure be built would be either outright disingenuous or naïve. One can write on each conflict. However, since time does not permit such a luxury, this paper will examine in some detail the conflicting stakes of Somalia and Ethiopia to show how irreconcilable their positions have been. It will then present a brief account of the serious internal and external problems which confront the sub-region, and which need to be addressed, and then conclude by making some observations regarding the infrastructure. Read more