| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Haile Selassie I |
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| Selected Speeches |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Selected Speeches |
| Haile Selassie the First - May 31, 1958 |
Almighty God in His infinite wisdom and bounty has blessed Our Empire
with various incomparable riches, not the least of which is the wealth of
our country's water resources. The development of these resources has
been Our constant preoccupation and We are today taking the first step in
Our programme for the fullest utilization of this God-given gift for the
benefit of Our people, marking thereby the high place which We have
ascribed to the matter of water resources in Our overall planning. Unlike
so many lands around her, Ethiopia has been especially blessed with an
abundance of natural resources, and the prolific amount of her annual
rainfall makes her fitly to be called "the Water Tower of the Horn of
Africa." Millions of square miles of territory together with millions of
human beings and their livestock depend on the water that flows from
Ethiopia's mountains, and from her comes more than two-thirds of the
waters of the Nile.
It is the duty and privilege of this generation and or posterity to conserve
and develop these precious resources. To fail to do so will be to fail in our
God-given responsibility. In building dams for impounding these waters
and utilizing the hydro-electric power to be secured from them, We are
giving a powerful impetus to all the programmes We have laid out for the
economic development of Our country. We are thereby protecting from
erosion the rich and precious soil of Our Empire, and are storing up
waters for irrigation, for increasing our agricultural and plantation
potential. We are thus providing the sinews of industry through the
generation of electric power and finally, We are aiding the development of
transportation in securing the means for eventual electrification. The rapid
growth of our population and the fast pace of our economic expansion call
for the early fulfilment of those development programmes. For example,
in the city of Addis Ababa alone, with its highly restricted generating
capacity, 47% of the electricity produced is now being consumed in
industrial installations. It is obvious that the addition of other sources of
hydro-electric power will give a tremendous impulsion to the development
of our industrial potential.
It is for this reason that, out of the 40 million Ethiopian Dollars to be paid
by Italy to Ethiopia under the War Reparations Agreement between the
two countries, We have allotted 30 million dollars to this project, which
holds such tremendous potential for agricultural and industrial
development, and for which We lay the foundation stone today. The
balance has been earmarked for the establishment of a textile factory.
These projects were chosen as being vital to raising the standard of living
of Our people.
This project which We see before us is eloquent testimony to the great
importance which We ascribe to hydro-electric and irrigation projects in
Our Empire. It represents, further, long years of careful scientific studies
and exploratory work, such as the painstaking compilation, and
examination of rainfall records for nearly a generation, geological surveys
and borings, and exhaustive studies by electrical, hydraulic and
construction engineers. The barrage has been so designed as to impound
the maximum flow of the waters available with the least possible
inconvenience tothe agricultural lands which surround it, and which lie
below it on the Awash River. This dam, costing 20 millions dollars, will
be capable, when completed, of generating 54,000 kilowatts of electric
power.
Today is a day of deep historic significance, for in laying this foundation
stone, We are establishing for Our beloved people a source of wealth.
This project constitutes the initial step both in the development and
utilization of the water resources of Our Empire, and in the programme
designed by Us for enhancing the progress and expansion of all fields of
economic endeavour in Our country -- agriculture, industry, transportation
and communications. And We shall never cease to strive, as We have
done in the case of the resources of these Awash waters, to exploit to the
maximum each individual source of wealth which God Almighty in His
mercy has bestowed upon Us. It is our duty to see that yet other barrages
are built in order to ensure that this bounty of Providence does not go to
waste and is utilized to the greater glory of His handiwork.
This project is but the first step in a similar programme We have in mind
for the other water courses of Our Empire, such as the Nile with its
volume and potentialities so vastly greater, as well as the Baro, the Sobat,
the Akobo and the Webi Shebelli.
When We are thus tirelessly striving to ensure that the riches and blessings
bestowed on Our country by God in His generosity are put to use for the
welfare and progress of Our people, it becomes the duty and obligation of
every citizen of Our Empire to assist Us in the tasks which We have
undertaken.
We express Our most profound gratitude to God Almighty for having
inspired Us to envisage this project and having enabled Us to see it
inaugurated.
In conclusion We would like to express Our thanks to the Italian
Government and the Authorities for the spirit of collaboration in this matter
and for fostering good relations between the two countries.
with various incomparable riches, not the least of which is the wealth of
our country's water resources. The development of these resources has
been Our constant preoccupation and We are today taking the first step in
Our programme for the fullest utilization of this God-given gift for the
benefit of Our people, marking thereby the high place which We have
ascribed to the matter of water resources in Our overall planning. Unlike
so many lands around her, Ethiopia has been especially blessed with an
abundance of natural resources, and the prolific amount of her annual
rainfall makes her fitly to be called "the Water Tower of the Horn of
Africa." Millions of square miles of territory together with millions of
human beings and their livestock depend on the water that flows from
Ethiopia's mountains, and from her comes more than two-thirds of the
waters of the Nile.
It is the duty and privilege of this generation and or posterity to conserve
and develop these precious resources. To fail to do so will be to fail in our
God-given responsibility. In building dams for impounding these waters
and utilizing the hydro-electric power to be secured from them, We are
giving a powerful impetus to all the programmes We have laid out for the
economic development of Our country. We are thereby protecting from
erosion the rich and precious soil of Our Empire, and are storing up
waters for irrigation, for increasing our agricultural and plantation
potential. We are thus providing the sinews of industry through the
generation of electric power and finally, We are aiding the development of
transportation in securing the means for eventual electrification. The rapid
growth of our population and the fast pace of our economic expansion call
for the early fulfilment of those development programmes. For example,
in the city of Addis Ababa alone, with its highly restricted generating
capacity, 47% of the electricity produced is now being consumed in
industrial installations. It is obvious that the addition of other sources of
hydro-electric power will give a tremendous impulsion to the development
of our industrial potential.
It is for this reason that, out of the 40 million Ethiopian Dollars to be paid
by Italy to Ethiopia under the War Reparations Agreement between the
two countries, We have allotted 30 million dollars to this project, which
holds such tremendous potential for agricultural and industrial
development, and for which We lay the foundation stone today. The
balance has been earmarked for the establishment of a textile factory.
These projects were chosen as being vital to raising the standard of living
of Our people.
This project which We see before us is eloquent testimony to the great
importance which We ascribe to hydro-electric and irrigation projects in
Our Empire. It represents, further, long years of careful scientific studies
and exploratory work, such as the painstaking compilation, and
examination of rainfall records for nearly a generation, geological surveys
and borings, and exhaustive studies by electrical, hydraulic and
construction engineers. The barrage has been so designed as to impound
the maximum flow of the waters available with the least possible
inconvenience tothe agricultural lands which surround it, and which lie
below it on the Awash River. This dam, costing 20 millions dollars, will
be capable, when completed, of generating 54,000 kilowatts of electric
power.
Today is a day of deep historic significance, for in laying this foundation
stone, We are establishing for Our beloved people a source of wealth.
This project constitutes the initial step both in the development and
utilization of the water resources of Our Empire, and in the programme
designed by Us for enhancing the progress and expansion of all fields of
economic endeavour in Our country -- agriculture, industry, transportation
and communications. And We shall never cease to strive, as We have
done in the case of the resources of these Awash waters, to exploit to the
maximum each individual source of wealth which God Almighty in His
mercy has bestowed upon Us. It is our duty to see that yet other barrages
are built in order to ensure that this bounty of Providence does not go to
waste and is utilized to the greater glory of His handiwork.
This project is but the first step in a similar programme We have in mind
for the other water courses of Our Empire, such as the Nile with its
volume and potentialities so vastly greater, as well as the Baro, the Sobat,
the Akobo and the Webi Shebelli.
When We are thus tirelessly striving to ensure that the riches and blessings
bestowed on Our country by God in His generosity are put to use for the
welfare and progress of Our people, it becomes the duty and obligation of
every citizen of Our Empire to assist Us in the tasks which We have
undertaken.
We express Our most profound gratitude to God Almighty for having
inspired Us to envisage this project and having enabled Us to see it
inaugurated.
In conclusion We would like to express Our thanks to the Italian
Government and the Authorities for the spirit of collaboration in this matter
and for fostering good relations between the two countries.
| Chapter XIII |
| Laying Foundation Stone Of Koka Dam May 31, 1958 |
| Light & Power |
| With an eye to the further modernization of Ethiopia and as a means of harnessing the hydrological potential of the country, His Majesty the Emperor has placed significant emphasis on the development of light and power. His thoughts and ideas on this phase of national activity are clearly expressed in the speeches selected and reproduced in this section of the book. |