Mauritania: Water crisis in Nouakchott

Basin resurface advancement well below ducts trickling

pipeline lack floods drinkable advancing entire elsewhere

severe few threats called supply taps

resort destitute carts barrel donkey facilities

career carry consumer nearby fleet providing

Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is a town built around a …………………with the same name.
Today, it is suffering from a serious water problem. “You know, our city is in a …………………. It’s
…………………sea level and the smallest tsunami would, quite simply, totally flood the capital.
Nouakchott has no …………………, no sanitation system or diversion for …………………sewage
water. And that water has to find a place to stagnate, which it does underground before surfacing
here, for example.”

This used, stagnant water can be found in several areas. The …………………of sanitation
…………………causes it to …………………, which causes serious problems in terms of pollution and
in turn provides the perfect breeding ground for malaria mosquitoes.

“One of the biggest …………………is the …………………of sand dunes. Here there are dunes which
can bury …………………districts of the city.”

The lack of water means the city has …………………trees, which would act as a buffer to
desertification and the …………………sand. But in a better off area of town where the high social
classes live, the water problem is less …………………than ………………….

“As you can see here, we have running, …………………water. It comes through a pipeline,
originating in a river in Senegal. This is how it is in the so-…………………‘well-off’ parts of the town.
In this area, the water problem – apart from winter …………………– is basically solved. But in
another district, it’s an entirely different situation.

Here we are in the poverty belt of the city, where the most …………………live. These are informal,
provisional settlements, deprived of all sanitary …………………and fresh water. So they are forced to
…………………to another drinking water supply system.

“We have nothing,” says this woman. “We buy water from street …………………. We don’t have
pipes, …………………, anything… Nothing at all.”

A water …………………can be found several kilometres away from here. It was built with the help of
the European Union. People go to buy water by the barrel or by the container and …………………it
home on the back of a …………………or on carts. Some people have made a …………………out of
it and others, a business.

“We sell the water at around 14 euro cents a …………………and they sell it on to the
…………………at around 57 cents. We sell a container for 3 cents and the resale value is double
that, at around 6 cents.”

Those living …………………go directly to the vendor to buy their water: “Here, 20 litres of tap water
sell for around 6 cents. We both drink and wash our clothes in it.”

All day long, a …………………of hundreds of carts lines the streets of the city supplying a large slice
of the population with water. It is equal to …………………life.
Egypt looks to SMEs to push growth
improve uprising agenda motivate law recover
unrest

business simplified enterprises loan

through concerns borrowing crucial pound lure

Egypt’s economy has started to ………………………but has yet to ………………………from the

country’s 2011 ………………………and the years of ………………………that followed –says the
Ratings Agency Moody’s.

One of the top reforms on the agenda ………………………small and medium

enterprises. A new ………………………is proposed where SMEs will be taxed
under a ………………………system. It’s aimed at encouraging those firms to
operate in the formal economy.

“We are now working on a law for small and medium enterprises. And it is a very
important law: Firstly it will include small ………………………into the regulated
sector that has not existed before. Secondly, this law will include a package that
we hope will ………………………them to move from the non-official to the official
sector.”

The government’s reform ………………………has also been

………………………to the International Monetary Fund’s
………………………program of $12 billion over three years.

“The SMEs are considered the most important sector that we work on. We have
many young people in Egypt, and ………………………economic development we
have to provide job opportunities for them through small and medium
……………………….”

Foreign ………………………and direct investment, assured by the IMF backing,

has helped drive Egypt’s economy up 4.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last
year.

The once crucial tourism sector has yet to recover, but the country hopes to
………………………holiday makers back with the cheaper Egyptian
……………………….
Mauritania: Water crisis in Nouakchott
Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is a town built around a well with the same name. Today, it is
suffering from a serious water problem. “You know, our city is in a basin. It’s below sea level and the
smallest tsunami would, quite simply, totally flood the capital. Nouakchott has no pipeline, no
sanitation system or diversion for trickling sewage water. And that water has to find a place to
stagnate, which it does underground before surfacing here, for example.”

This used, stagnant water can be found in several areas. The lack of sanitation ducts causes it to
resurface, which causes serious problems in terms of pollution and in turn provides the perfect
breeding ground for malaria mosquitoes.

“One of the biggest threats is the advancement of sand dunes. Here there are dunes which can bury
entire districts of the city.”

The lack of water means the city has few trees, which would act as a buffer to desertification and the
advancing sand. But in a better off area of town where the high social classes live, the water problem
is less severe than elsewhere.

“As you can see here, we have running, drinkable water. It comes through a pipeline, originating in a
river in Senegal. This is how it is in the so-called ‘well-off’ parts of the town. In this area, the water
problem – apart from winter floods – is basically solved. But in another district, it’s an entirely different
situation.

Here we are in the poverty belt of the city, where the most destitute live. These are informal,
provisional settlements, deprived of all sanitary facilities and fresh water. So they are forced to resort
to another drinking water supply system.

“We have nothing,” says this woman. “We buy water from street carts. We don’t have pipes, taps,
anything… Nothing at all.”

A water supply can be found several kilometres away from here. It was built with the help of the
European Union. People go to buy water by the barrel or by the container and carry it home on the
back of a donkey or on carts. Some people have made a career out of it and others, a business.

“We sell the water at around 14 euro cents a barrel and they sell it on to the consumer at around 57
cents. We sell a container for 3 cents and the resale value is double that, at around 6 cents.”

Those living nearby go directly to the vendor to buy their water: “Here, 20 litres of tap water sell for
around 6 cents. We both drink and wash our clothes in it.”

All day long, a fleet of hundreds of carts lines the streets of the city supplying a large slice of the
population with water. It is equal to providing life.