Topic 7
Poor governance and corruption are some of the challenges that most African countries have faced since attaining their independence. According to Watts (p.9), Africa is shambling in despair due famine and starvation as a result of corruption and poor governance. Civil wars experienced in countries such as Congo have been as a result of greedy politicians who are unwilling to share national resources with other citizens. This sense of entitlement has resulted in more chaos in a country that possesses several natural resources (Watts 10). Besides, such nations’ political allies have a fair share of the blame because they have used corrupt means to acquire resources, especially during periods of unrest illegally. Furthermore, according to Watts (p.11), famine is considered the final step in this orchestrated political selfishness. The famine comes from inadequate involvement in food production, both at the farm and industrial levels, due to the constant chaos.
Topic 6
Dams have proved to be more wasteful than resourceful in parts of Egypt and Ethiopia. Their water reservoirs only managed to provide water for domestic use and irrigation (Milas, p.47). However, only a small portion of their projects have been directed to power production. Notably, there has been a suggestion over the years for the utilization of Nile water for geothermal power. Egypt has already implemented a part of that project, but the scheme remains a small scale. Larger geothermal schemes could prove to be a long-term solution for geoelectric power production, adequate irrigation programs, and suitable provision for domestic water.
It is worth to note that even though dams have been considered effective, they end up detering the progress of some other regions on the lower sides of the Nile river. The volume of water that manages to reach the furthest end of the river reduces significantly. Countries along the Nile basin need to unite and utilize the aforementioned geothermal schemes or any other reliable projects equally beneficial to them.