H.E Dr.Eng. Seleshi Bekele

Message from the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity

I accepted the honourable appointment to serve the people of my beloved country as Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity (MoWIE) with gratitude, humility and great sense of responsibility.  Today, more than ever, we are witnessing the opening up of our government in the appointment of key positions to maximize the benefits of knowledge, professionalism, skills and experiences in shaping the destiny of our nation. I feel very lucky to have this newest opportunity and I am taking the challenges to work towards a modern and prosperous Ethiopia that develops and manages its water and energy resources sustainably with competence and efficiency for the benefit of its people.

Water is one of the key resources that will shape our economic development through enabling economic growth together with social, political and environmental welfare of people. The water resources endowment of our country is our God given natural blessing. It is up to us all Ethiopians to develop it and use it judiciously in quenching our thirst, protect our health, produce enough food and energy, and manage the resource to overcome the horrific consequences of droughts and floods.

Enabling water supply access is the top priority of the national water policy. Thanks to the recent strong efforts in federal and regional Government interventions and the WASH programmes by all stakeholders that we are approaching universal access to drinking water for all. It however also needs upscaling the supply quantity, quality and operational sustainability commensurate with the new standard of middle income by 2025.;