Somalia should invest in Juba and Shabelle rivers to end poverty

[Deeq A.]

By Ahmed Abdi

 KISMAAYO— The Juba and Shabelle rivers are perennial rivers that Somalis should invest in to end the poverty and reliance on foreign aid.

Billions of cubic meters of water are ending up the Indian Ocean that should be used to irrigate over half a million hectares of land.

Juba and Shabelle, 90% of their flow originates from occupied Somali territory of Ogaden. Unlike Nile water, the Ethiopian highlanders will not threaten Somali waters since their kinships live in both Jubaland and Ogaden.

But there is security challenge posed by the insurgent in Somalia that does not allow so far Somalis to cultivate their land freely.

In the Holy Quran Allah said, “And when he turns away (from you “O Muhammed peace be upon him”), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allah likes not mischief”( Al-Baqara, verse 205).

If given chance for agriculture people would learn how Allah blessed them with these perennial rivers that can help provide much of their foods instead of importing from foreign lands.