Report
Visit to Keren, Eritrea 26 February - 1 March 2002
By Erik Dahl
Mayor Liv Sandven of Trondheim and Erik Dahl of the Trondheim-Keren friendship association visited Keren 26.2-1.3 2002 by invitation of Mayor Tesfay Tecle of Keren. The event was the ten-year jubilee of the friendship link between Keren and Trondheim. I also visited Keren in 1992, a few months after the establishment of the link (at that time with Heimdal, a part of Trondheim). Since then many people from Trondheim have travelled to Keren. Almost every year someone has been there, and many inhabitants of Keren and other parts of Eritrea have come to visit Trondheim.
During the visit this year an extensive program had been set up with discussions at the Mayor’s office, visits to schools, libraries, a hospital, water projects, an industry site, and also to the beautiful surroundings of Keren and private homes. In addition, I visited a friend who at this time is imprisoned. The actual celebration of the jubilee was an unforgettable performance in front of 3,000 spectators at the Stadium of Keren. During most of the visit Mayor Tesfay himself guided us. This gave insight into the problems that concern him most during his daily work.
Keren has grown very rapidly. In 1992 there were approximately 50,000 inhabitants of the town. Now there are 121,000 if military personnel and refugees from other parts of Eritrea and the Sudan are included. Keren is beautifully situated with mountains on every side. It is located approximately 90 kilometers to the northwest of Asmara. Keren is a junction between the capital, Western Eritrea (and the Sudan), Northern Eritrea (with the heroic town of Nacfa) and the Red Sea coast via a new road being constructed through Gheleb. The city’s elevation above sea level is about 1300 meters.
The climate is relatively dry and warm, and one of the major problems is lack of water. Normally there are abundant rainfalls during July and August. During the rest of the year it is relatively hot.
Presently there is no city council in Keren (and no local elections). Preliminary work is under way to alter this. Tesfay regards it to be a problem that his has no city council, leaving a burden of responsibility on his shoulders. The regional governor appoints the mayor. Keren belongs to the Anseba region (one of six regions in Eritrea), which is also governed from Keren. The regional administration has recently got new timely buildings.
The city of Keren has developed around a fortress built by the Turks during the 1600 hundreds. However, it was during the Italian rule (1888-1941) that city development really started. Much of the architecture of the city is Italian style. Centrally in Keren there is a large roundabout. The streets have been planned as a star from this central point.
The existing city plan was made in 1936. The latest city map is dated 1958. So far there has been made neither official surveys nor air photography of the city in modern times. Mayor Tesfay sees this as one of the major obstacles to a harmonic city development, and he is planning steps to remedy this deficiency.
There is a relatively high construction activity in Keren these days. Many houses are being built, as well as churches/mosques and other official buildings. At a few sites one could see building cranes, but most houses being constructed are two to three-storey homes being built manually. Many buildings were erected «illegally» since there is no city plan.
As of February 2002 altogether 11,800 families have applied for permission to set up houses. Many of them have the financing settled. The lack of a master plan is the main problem in relation to this. Since one does not have such a plan, it is not possible to plan the development of water supply and sewage, electricity supply, and telecommunications. Neither does one know where future industrial areas shall be located, making it difficult to give permission to develop residential areas.
An Italian university has been consulted about city planning, but this has so far not led to specific results. One needs to survey at least 1000 hectares of land. The area around Keren has abundant areas for development if one is able to supply water.
The lack of water is one of the most severe problems in Keren. As the population increases, the problem grows more and more serious. Normally one estimates the need of water per inhabitant per day to be 40 liters, and WHO has suggested 15 liters as a minimal limit. So far Keren has been able to produce 2,200,000 liters of water per day. With a population of 121,000 this corresponds to 18 liters per person. However, in the dry season (March-June) the production falls to 1 million liters per day, implying only 8 liters per inhabitant.
This is so little that Tesfay fears the outbreak of discontent among the inhabitants of the city.
The problem can be solved in different ways. The most important water source is the river Anseba that runs northwards approximately 7 km to the east of Keren. During the rainy season (July/August) there is plenty of water in that river, and up to October/November there is usually a certain amount of water left. During the rest of the year it is quite dry. When we visited Keren in February no water could be seen at the surface, but in the 9 meters thick sand deposit there was some water. One had built some point wells, pumping up water. It passed through a cleaning plant and a pumping station on its way to town.
Mayor Tesfay showed us a detailed consultant report on the solution of the water problem through a five-year development plan. To carry out the plan one needs financing of an order of magnitude that is not available today. Still Mr. Tesfay wanted to speed up the plan to solve the desperate needs for reliable water supply.
It has been suggested to build subsurface dams in the Anseba to collect water that pours in the sand. However, this is a rather costly project. In a longer time frame (ten years?) the government is planning to build a larger dam 35 km upstream in Anseba to supply Keren with water. One believes this will solve the problem. The project is however very expensive and lacks financing, and the citizens of the city cannot wait until it is realized.
Another possibility for water supply is to build out the area to the northwest of Keren, called Shitaf. Here the Evangelical Church of Eritrea has built several dams. We visited the area to study the situation. The problem is that most of the dams are filled with sand. One of them that still contain some water is leaking. One does not know where the water disappears. Consequently, these dams are not in use today. The drainage area of these dams is not very large. (When I was there ten years ago, at least one of the dams was being used.) Tesfay/Zere Bekit (from the Evangelical Church) asked for consultancy regarding these dams.
The pharmacy factory (see the paragraph on industrial development) is situated nearby the Shitaf area. Close to the factory one has drilled a well, which has run dry. Lack of water is said to be the main reason for not putting the factory into production.
Theoretically it should be possible to get some water out of the sources of the large river Barka to the south of Keren. But even there the drainage area is quite small. We saw a small pump run by solar cells a few kilometers downstream in that river.
There has been large improvement in the roads of the area in recent years. In the Keren city centre one has tarred 20 km of the streets, and even more is under work. Mr Tesfay has so far abandoned the railway that came from Asmara and ran through Agordat (towards the Sudan). It had been totally destroyed after thirty years of war. Instead he is using the railway track for new roads through the city.
In the same way one has given up the old Italian airport in Keren, and the area is being used for construction of private homes. The airfield was anyway too small for modern aircraft. If it becomes necessary to build a new airport, it will be situated out of town. There is enough of space for this.
The city has got a new digital telephone switch (manufactured by Ericsson) with 2,800 lines. 2,000 of them are presently being used, and altogether 6,000 families have access to a telephone. The switch is connected to Asmara through a 90-channel radio link. (The connection is vulnerable to failure and a second connection directly to Massawa is desirable. - My comment.) As of today 10 subscribers are using the Internet with e-mail. Mayor Tesfay is himself one of these. TSE I NET operates the telecommunication system. There is no mobile telephone system in Keren.
Electricity supply now runs 24 hours a day. Shortage of electricity, a main problem in Asmara, is not that serious in Keren.
Keren has today 31 schools (kindergartens included). There are altogether 24,000 pupils and 1,400 teachers. Many of the classes have up to 60 pupils, and most of the schools are working two shifts. Teachers often attend both shifts. At Keren Secondary School there are 3,500 students, also at two shifts. The latter school suffers from the lack of adequate teaching aids.
Even if conditions are difficult, the situation has improved since I visited Keren in 1992. Apparently a high percentage of the children of Keren attend school. However, at some schools the students have to walk long distances to get to school, in some cases up to four hours a day.
The motivation for schooling seems to be high and most of the children look happy. There seems to be few discipline problems. Apparently there are enough teachers, but they lack sufficient competency and teaching material. At one of the schools there was a complete lack of water during the dry season.
Keren has one hospital and one clinic. They shall serve not only Keren city but also the whole of the Anseba region as well as parts of the Gash-Barka region. The resources are very insufficient. There is a need for at least four new clinics.
We visited the hospital and talked to administrators and a few of the doctors. One has a severe need for advanced medical equipment. Wheelchairs and other material sent from Trondheim with the renovation trucks are being used regularly, even if some of them have cracked. One has a definite need for more wheelchairs and helping aids for walking, for they make it possible for elderly and sick people to get out into the sun, which in itself brings them health. Formerly these patients had to sit indoors all the time.
The three trucks sent from Trondheim in 1999 are being used every day and are presently sufficient for the renovation service of Keren. There is a need for some repair parts of the cars, especially for the electrical systems. In addition, one needs at least one septic vehicle.
Keren has today no real industry. During the 1990s there was built a pharmaceutical factory to the west of the city. The factory is now almost ready for production but has not been put into operation. The official reason for this is that there is not enough water in the area.
As far as handicraft is concerned there is a quite high activity. At the exotic market of the city one can buy a lot of clothing, baskets, gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, and many other things. Artifacts from precious metals are especially in demand by visitors.
Keren has today no newspapers or weekly magazines. However, one can view Eritrean TV, even if the technical quality is relatively poor.
One can see a few policemen and some military personnel. Keren has a very low level of crime. According to the mayor there has only been two serious crimes during the last ten years. Drug addiction is almost unknown, but there is a problem of alcoholism. Some inhabitants are kept in prison for minor crimes. I visited a friend who was imprisoned. The conditions in the prison seemed to be fairly good.
During the visit much time was spent together with Mayor Tesfay Tecle, and we got a good impression of his challenges and daily work tasks. City planning and water supply are his main priorities. These problems have to be solved to get along with the development of Keren city.
It seems that cooperation with Trondheim can contribute positively the solution of Keren’s problems. The Eritreans do not ask for pure aid but cooperation in solving specific problems. These areas are candidates for such cooperation:
· City planning, in cooperation with the Institute of city and regional planning, NTNU
· Planning of water production, together with the Water and harbor laboratory, NTNU
· Development of at teachers’ training college, together with HIST, Teachers’ training dept.
· Local democracy development. Exchange of experience with the community of Trondheim.
· Further development of the renovation service, including use of a septic vehicle.
· Further development of the cultural cooperation.
· Further development of the school cooperation, including impact on attitudes in Norway/Trondheim toward the peoples of Third World.
· Medical/health services: supply of more wheelchairs/walking aids from Hjelpemiddel-sentralen in Trondheim to the hospital of Keren. In addition, cooperation with RIT concerning transfer of advanced medical equipment that is getting redundant as a new hospital is erected in Trondheim.
There may be areas that have not been mentioned. Even if it may seem unrealistic to carry out all the tasks listed, it should be emphasized that the climate of cooperation is good and that the conditions for further development of the friendship link in the coming decade seem favorable.
Mayor Tesfay will visit Trondheim in conjunction with the jubilee 27 April 2002, and further cooperation will be discussed at that time.
Thanks are due to Mayor Tesfay Tecle and the Keren Friendship committee, including its chairman Mr. Zere Bekit and the rest of the committee, as well as Mr. Ghebrehannes Mender (the former committee chairman) for arranging the visit to Keren.
The Friendship committee of Trondheim approved this report 13.3.2002.