CNN carries a Reuter story today with the intriguing headline: “Simple fixes could bring water to millions.”
“Kenya is a water-scarce country, but I believe that with efficient management of our water resources we can use the available water resources for the benefit of everybody and to cover all our needs,” Karua said in an interview. She said rebuilding Nairobi’s crumbling water infrastructure with leaking pipes would cost over $80 billion, but much also needed to be done to eradicate corruption and misuse. “In Nairobi around 40 percent of the water is unaccounted for,” Karua said.
Putting aside the question of how it is that 40% of a country’s water goes “unaccounted for, “according to CNN, “simple fixes” cost $80 billion. Even Ted Turner might choke on that bill. Maybe the headline should be “Endemic Graft Dooms Millions in Africa: Solutions Far in the Future.”