Better deal for relocated riverside residents

A new study is being conducted on compensation for people living alongside Addis Ababa’s rivers.
The new plan, which would have to be approved by Takele Uma, Vice Mayor of Addis Ababa is expected to pay better compensation to people who live within a 50 meter radius of a nearby river and are forced to relocate. The current compensation system pays a minimum of 550,000 birr for private house owners.
The new plan will only pay money to people who own a private house near the river while the people who live in government house will be relocated to a condo or Keble home.
Sources in the city administration told Capital that the new plan will be applied until the end of this fiscal year.
“Many people live near the rivers and we want to remove them quickly so, assuming the Mayor approves we will revise our compensation plan.’’
Recently the River Basins & Green Areas Agency made a plan to control waste that enters the rivers, and storm runoffs that cause flooding, and the creation of conducive institutional environments for conservation.
A recent study made by the agency disclosed that 900,000 different government and private institutions are vulnerable to flood disaster.
The identified 1, 435 places are at high risk and if action is not taken thousands could be killed and 4.2 billion birr worth of property damage could occur. Among the riskiest places 66 are located near the river and 26 are located near a potential landslide area. Most of the risky places are found in Gullele and NifasSilke Sub city.
Riversides in Addis Ababa have been a source of worry for residents along their precipices. The areas have been dogged by landslides, pollution and lack of development for ages. But due to a spate of development activities, that might change soon.
The research found that Addis Ababa Rivers and riversides face problems which include: badly polluted segments through direct discharge of domestic waste generated mainly from households and institutions; river bank erosion; and inaccessible rivers and riversides.