logo
Unfinished US water projects leave global communities at risk

Unfinished US water projects leave global communities at risk

The Sun7 days ago
TAVETA: The abrupt termination of U.S. foreign aid has left critical water and sanitation projects incomplete across 16 countries, endangering millions who relied on them for clean water and flood protection. Reuters uncovered 21 abandoned initiatives, with workers forced to leave behind half-dug canals, unsecured materials, and unfinished infrastructure.
In Mali, water towers meant for schools and clinics stand deserted. Nepal halted over 100 drinking water systems, leaving communities with unused cement and pipes. Lebanon's solar-powered water utility project was scrapped, forcing reliance on costly diesel. Kenya's Taita Taveta County faces heightened flood risks as incomplete irrigation canals threaten farms.
Mary Kibachia, a 74-year-old farmer, said, 'I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause, the floods will definitely get worse.'
The Trump administration defended the cuts, arguing funds should prioritize Americans. However, bipartisan support previously backed these projects, including a 2014 law that doubled water infrastructure funding. Experts warn the cuts could reverse decades of progress, increasing disease, school dropouts, and extremist recruitment.
John Oldfield, a water infrastructure advocate, said, 'Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?'
The U.S. State Department, now overseeing aid, has not commented on the halted projects. While Jordan's desalination plant funding was restored, programs in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Congo remain stalled.
In eastern Congo, defunct water kiosks have become playgrounds. Evelyne Mbaswa, a mother of nine, lost her son while fetching water—a perilous task in conflict zones. 'When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped.... All this is because of the lack of water,' she said.
Kenya's $100 million USAID project was only 15% complete when halted, leaving hazardous trenches and $100,000 in materials exposed. A U.S. embassy memo warned unfinished work could damage America's reputation and fuel extremism.
In Taita Taveta, incomplete canal walls risk collapse during rains. Community leader Juma Kubo said, 'Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms.' Locals now seek $526,000 to salvage the project.
For Kibachia, delays are dire. After her home flooded, she said, 'Where can I go? This is home.' - Reuters
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

South Korea to prepare mutually agreeable trade package as US tariff deadline looms
South Korea to prepare mutually agreeable trade package as US tariff deadline looms

The Star

time3 hours ago

  • The Star

South Korea to prepare mutually agreeable trade package as US tariff deadline looms

South Korea, facing 25 per cent tariffs, is rushing to reach a trade deal with Washington. -- PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL (Reuters): South Korea will prepare a trade package that is mutually agreeable with the United States ahead of minister-level meetings planned next week and a US tariff-pause deadline of August 1, the presidential office said on Saturday. The package will include shipbuilding cooperation, a sector of high interest to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who discussed the matter with South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan on Friday, it said in a statement. Friday's meeting was a follow-up to a meeting on Thursday, where Lutnick and Kim reaffirmed their commitment to reach a trade deal by August 1, after a joint meeting of finance ministers and top trade envoys that had been scheduled for Friday was postponed. South Korea, facing 25% tariffs, is rushing to reach a trade deal with Washington, with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac visiting the U.S. recently for high-level talks and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo also in the U.S. for negotiations, as pressure grows on officials to clinch a deal that is no worse than Japan's that cut tariffs to 15%. South Korea's trade negotiations with the U.S. have included non-tariff barriers in the agricultural and digital service sectors, but foreign exchange has not been part of trade talks beyond usual consultations, according to South Korean officials. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday for bilateral talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, which could yield a trade deal with the European Union, after making a deal earlier this week with Japan and the Philippines. Next week, U.S. officials will hold a new round of trade talks with China in Sweden for an extension to a separate deadline of August 12 set between the two countries. South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will also hold meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and State Secretary Marco Rubio, respectively, next week. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Central African Republic's Touadera announces bid for third term
Central African Republic's Touadera announces bid for third term

The Star

time3 hours ago

  • The Star

Central African Republic's Touadera announces bid for third term

FILE PHOTO: Central African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadera arrives before a dinner with several heads of state and government and leaders of international organisations at the Elysee Palace, as part of the 19th Francophonie Summit, in Paris, France, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo BANGUI (Reuters) -Central African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadera said on Saturday he will run for a third term later this year, seeking to extend his rule into a second decade after scrapping term limits in 2023. "Many of you have asked for me, and my answer is yes. I am your candidate for the presidential election of December 2025," the 68-year-old said at a meeting of his party, the United Hearts Movement, in the capital Bangui. "We will continue the work of rebuilding our country." Since taking office in 2016, Touadera has enlisted outside forces to stay in power amid a persistent civil conflict, including mercenaries from Russia's Wagner militia, who intervened in 2018 on the side of the government. Landlocked Central African Republic, roughly the size of France and with a population of around 5.5 million, is deeply impoverished despite being rich in resources including gold, diamonds and timber. It has witnessed waves of instability, including coups and rebellions, since independence from France in 1960. Touadera won a second term in 2020, though militants including the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) have fought to overturn that result. The army, backed by United Nations peacekeepers and Russian and Rwandan troops, has been fighting the group for years. Touadera's current term was supposed to be his last, but in 2023 the country held a constitutional referendum that abolished the two-term limit and extended the presidential mandate from five to seven years. Opposition parties and civil society groups have said the new constitution, which was backed by more than 95% of voters, could allow Touadera to stay in power for life. The exact date of the December vote has not been announced. (Reporting by Pacome Pabandji; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian and Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Jan Harvey)

Trump tariffs leave costly China supply question unanswered; Indonesia among countries deeply affected
Trump tariffs leave costly China supply question unanswered; Indonesia among countries deeply affected

The Star

time4 hours ago

  • The Star

Trump tariffs leave costly China supply question unanswered; Indonesia among countries deeply affected

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): President Donald Trump's recent flurry of trade deals have given Asian exporters some clarity on tariffs, but missing are key details on how to avoid punitive rates that target China's supply chains. Trump unveiled tariffs of 20% for Vietnam and 19% for Indonesia and the Philippines, signaling those are the levels the US will likely settle on for most of Southeast Asia, a region that ships US$352 billion worth of goods annually to the US. He's also threatened to rocket rates up to 40% for products deemed to be transshipped, or re-routed, through those countries - a move largely directed at curbing Chinese goods circumventing higher US tariffs. But still unclear to manufacturers is how the US will calculate and apply local-content requirements, key to how it will determine what constitutes transshipped goods. South-East Asian nations are highly reliant on Chinese components and raw materials, and US firms that source from the region would bear the extra tariff damage. That's left companies, investors and economists facing several unanswered questions about Trump's tariffs that appear aimed at squeezing out Chinese content, according to Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. "Is that raw materials? All raw materials? Above a certain percentage?' she said. "How about parts? What about labor or services? What about investment?' In an agreement with Indonesia last week, the White House said the two countries would negotiate "rules of origin' to ensure a third country wouldn't benefit. The deal with Vietnam earlier this month outlined a higher 40% tariff rate for transshipped goods. And Thai officials, who have yet to secure a deal, detailed that they likely need to boost local content in exports to the US. Missing Details The Trump administration isn't providing much clarity on the matter right now. US officials are still working out details with trading partners and looking at value-based local content requirements, to ensure exports are more than just assembled imported parts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who didn't want to be identified discussing private talks. A senior Trump administration official also said this week that details on the approach to transshipment are expected to be released before Aug. 1, the deadline for when higher US tariffs kick in. Some factories are already adjusting their supply chains to comply with rules that will require more locally-made components in production. Frank Deng, an executive at a Shanghai-based furniture exporter with operations in Vietnam - and which gets about 80% of business from the US - said in an interview his firm is making adjustments as authorities appear to be more strictly enforcing country-of-origin rules. Vietnam has always had specific local content requirements for manufacturers, Deng added, including that a maximum of 30% of the volume of raw materials originates from China, and the value after production in Vietnam must be 40% higher than the imported raw materials. "We've been struggling to meet all the standards so that we can still stay in the game,' Deng said. "But I guess that's the only way to survive now.' For most of Southeast Asia, reducing the amount of Chinese-made components in manufacturing will require a complete overhaul of their supply chains. Estimates from Eurasia Group show that Chinese components make up about 60% to 70% of exports from Southeast Asia - primarily industrial inputs that go into manufacturing assembly. About 15% of the region's exports now head to the US, up about four percentage points from 2018. Local Content The US has become increasingly vigilant about China's ability to bypass US trade tariffs and other restrictions through third countries since Trump's first trade war in 2017. Thailand signaled its frustration over the lack of clarity for how much local content is needed in goods exported to the US to avert transshipment rates, but noted it will likely be much higher than a traditional measure of 40%. "From what we've heard, the required percentage could be significantly higher, perhaps 60%, 70%, or even 80%,' Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said July 14. "Emerging countries or new production bases are clearly at a disadvantage,' he said, as their manufacturing capabilities are still at an early stage and must rely on other countries for raw goods. Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have all taken steps this year to address Trump's concerns, increasing scrutiny of trade that passes through their ports including new rule-of-origin policies that centralize processing and imposing harsh penalties on transshippers. Developing nations may still struggle to enforce Trump's rules or comply with the rules if it means going up against China, their largest trading partner and geopolitical partner. "The reality is it's not enforceable at all,' said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group. "Chinese companies have all kinds of ways to get around it and those other countries have no incentive to enforce those measures, or capacity to collect the data and determine local content.' -- Reports from Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Skylar Woodhouse and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store