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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
FILE PHOTO: A child sleeps on plastic jerrycans as people queue at the standpipe, where incomplete water connections caused by USAID funding cuts to the NGO Mercy Corps have led to ongoing water shortages, in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo TAVETA, Kenya - The Trump administration's decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe, creating new hazards for some of the people they were designed to benefit, Reuters has found. Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported. With hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cancelled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded, according to interviews with U.S. and local officials and internal documents seen by Reuters. As a result, millions of people who were promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities by the United States have been left to fend for themselves. Water towers intended to serve schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Nepal, construction was halted on more than 100 drinking water systems, leaving plumbing supplies and 6,500 bags of cement in local communities. The Himalayan nation will use its own funds to finish the job, according to the country's water minister Pradeep Yadav. In Lebanon, a project to provide cheap solar power to water utilities was scrapped, costing some 70 people their jobs and halting plans to improve regional services. The utilities are now relying on diesel and other sources to power their services, said Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon's energy ministry. In Kenya, residents of Taita Taveta County say they are now more vulnerable to flooding than they had been before, as half-finished irrigation canals could collapse and sweep away crops. Community leaders say it will cost $2,000 to lower the risk – twice the average annual income in the area. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure Asia China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities raise alarm around the world Asia Autogate glitch causes chaos at KLIA and Johor checkpoints, foreign passport holders affected Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died Singapore Who decides when you can't? A guide on planning for end-of-life care Singapore Why hiring more teachers makes sense, even with falling student numbers Singapore Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: Train service resumes after power fault affects 13-station line "I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause, the floods will definitely get worse," said farmer Mary Kibachia, 74. BIPARTISAN SUPPORT Trump's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development has left life-saving food and medical aid rotting in warehouses and thrown humanitarian efforts around the world into turmoil. The cuts may cause an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. The Trump administration and its supporters argue that the United States should spend its money to benefit Americans at home rather than sending it abroad, and say USAID had strayed from its original mission by funding projects like LGBT rights in Serbia. With an annual budget of $450 million, the U.S. water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year. Before Trump's reelection in November, the water projects had not been controversial in Washington. A 2014 law that doubled funding passed both chambers of Congress unanimously. Advocates say the United States has over the years improved the lives of tens of millions of people by building pumps, irrigation canals, toilets and other water and sanitation projects. That means children are less likely to die of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, girls are more likely to stay in school, and young men are less likely to be recruited by extremist groups, said John Oldfield, a consultant and lobbyist for water infrastructure projects. 'Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?' he said. The U.S. State Department, which has taken over foreign aid from USAID, did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of halting the water projects. The agency has restored some funding for life-saving projects, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said American assistance will be more limited going forward. At least one water project has been restarted. Funding for a $6 billion desalination plant in Jordan was restored after a diplomatic push by King Abdullah. But funding has not resumed for projects in other countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, say people familiar with those programs who spoke on condition of anonymity. That means women in those areas will have to walk for hours to collect unsafe water, children will face increased disease risk and health facilities will be shuttered, said Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a nonprofit that worked with USAID on water projects in Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan that were intended to benefit 1.7 million people. 'This isn't just the loss of aid — it's the unraveling of progress, stability, and human dignity,' she said. THE PERILS OF FETCHING WATER In eastern Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, defunct USAID water kiosks now serve as play areas for children. Evelyne Mbaswa, 38, told Reuters her 16-year-old son went to fetch water in June and never came home – a familiar reality to families in the violence-wracked region. 'When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped.... All this is because of the lack of water,' the mother of nine said. A spokesperson for the Congolese government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya, USAID was in the midst of a five-year, $100 million project that aimed to provide drinking water and irrigation systems for 150,000 people when contractors and staffers were told in January to stop their work, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. Only 15% of the work had been completed at that point, according to a May 15 memo by DAI Global LLC, the contractor on the project. That has left open trenches and deep holes that pose acute risks for children and livestock and left $100,000 worth of pipes, fencing and other materials exposed at construction sites, where they could degrade or be looted, according to other correspondence seen by Reuters. USAID signage at those sites makes clear who is responsible for the half-finished work, several memos say. That could hurt the United States' reputation and potentially give a boost to extremist groups seeking fresh recruits in the region, according to a draft memo from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi to the State Department seen by Reuters. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group based in Somalia has been responsible for a string of high-profile attacks in Kenya, including an assault on a university in 2015 that killed at least 147 people. "The reputational risk of not finishing these projects could turn into a security risk," the memo said. DAMAGING FLOODS In Kenya's Taita Taveta, a largely rural county that has endured cyclical drought and flooding, workers had only managed to build brick walls along 220 metres of the 3.1-kilometre (1.9 mile) irrigation canal when they were ordered to stop, community leaders said. And those walls have not been plastered, leaving them vulnerable to erosion. 'Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms,' said Juma Kobo, a community leader. The community has asked the Kenyan government and international donors to help finish the job, at a projected cost of 68 million shillings ($526,000). In the meantime, they plan to sell the cement and steel cables left on site, Kobo said, to raise money to plaster and backfill the canal. The county government needs to find "funds to at least finish the project to the degree we can with the materials we have, if not complete it fully," said Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti, an irrigation officer working for the county. The Kenyan government did not respond to a request for comment. For Kibachia, who has lived with flooding for years, help cannot come soon enough. Three months after work stopped on the project, her mud hut was flooded with thigh-deep water. "It was really bad this time. I had to use soil to level the floor of my house and to patch up holes in the wall because of damage caused by the floods," she said. 'Where can I go? This is home.' REUTERS
The Star
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Congo, M23 rebels plan return to Qatar talks amid Trump pressure
FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group ride on their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo (Reuters) -Congo's government and Rwanda-backed rebels said on Thursday they would send delegations back to Qatar for peace talks, as Washington pushes for an end to fighting that could help unlock billions in mining investments. M23 holds more territory than ever before in eastern Congo after staging a lightning advance earlier this year. The fighting, the latest flare-up in a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide three decades ago, has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. Qatar is hosting a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo government and M23. Last week the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed a peace accord in Washington, pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days. The top diplomats also met with Trump, who invited Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of deals that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington Accord". Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boulos said the Trump administration would "love" to hold that meeting at the end of July. But he also said U.S. officials hope to have a deal in Doha finalised by then. SLOW PROGRESS At a press conference on Thursday, their first since last week's signing ceremony in Washington, an M23 official said rebel delegates would return to Doha but accused Kinshasa of not taking the process seriously. "Since the signing of the Washington agreement, we have been contacted three times by the Qatari mediator to resume dialogue," said Benjamin Mbonimpa, one of the M23 delegates who has taken part in the Doha dialogue. The rebels are still insisting on progress on preconditions such as the release of imprisoned M23 fighters and the reopening of banks in rebel-held territory, he said. Congo's presidency said in a statement to Reuters that government delegates were also returning to Doha. The latest report by a panel of United Nations experts, obtained this week by Reuters, said Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 during their advance. Rwanda has denied backing M23 militarily and a government spokesperson said this week the report "misrepresents Rwanda's longstanding security concerns" in eastern Congo, notably the presence of ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide. Despite remaining hurdles to ending the long-running conflict, Boulos said on Wednesday he was "optimistic" because Tshisekedi and Kagame were serious about reaching a deal. (Reporting by Congo newsroom, Ange Adihe Kasongo in Kinshasa, Stanis Bujakera in Washington; writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Straits Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Congo, M23 rebels plan return to Qatar talks amid Trump pressure
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group ride on their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo Congo's government and Rwanda-backed rebels said on Thursday they would send delegations back to Qatar for peace talks, as Washington pushes for an end to fighting that could help unlock billions in mining investments. M23 holds more territory than ever before in eastern Congo after staging a lightning advance earlier this year. The fighting, the latest flare-up in a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide three decades ago, has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. Qatar is hosting a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo government and M23. Last week the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed a peace accord in Washington, pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days. The top diplomats also met with Trump, who invited Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of deals that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington Accord". Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boulos said the Trump administration would "love" to hold that meeting at the end of July. But he also said U.S. officials hope to have a deal in Doha finalised by then. SLOW PROGRESS At a press conference on Thursday, their first since last week's signing ceremony in Washington, an M23 official said rebel delegates would return to Doha but accused Kinshasa of not taking the process seriously. "Since the signing of the Washington agreement, we have been contacted three times by the Qatari mediator to resume dialogue," said Benjamin Mbonimpa, one of the M23 delegates who has taken part in the Doha dialogue. The rebels are still insisting on progress on preconditions such as the release of imprisoned M23 fighters and the reopening of banks in rebel-held territory, he said. Congo's presidency said in a statement to Reuters that government delegates were also returning to Doha. The latest report by a panel of United Nations experts, obtained this week by Reuters, said Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 during their advance. Rwanda has denied backing M23 militarily and a government spokesperson said this week the report "misrepresents Rwanda's longstanding security concerns" in eastern Congo, notably the presence of ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide. Despite remaining hurdles to ending the long-running conflict, Boulos said on Wednesday he was "optimistic" because Tshisekedi and Kagame were serious about reaching a deal. REUTERS
Straits Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Rwanda exercises command and control over M23 rebels, say UN experts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo NEW YORK - Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 rebels during their advance in eastern Congo, gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory, according to a confidential report by a group of United Nations experts. The report obtained by Reuters details training which the experts say Rwanda has provided to M23 recruits and military equipment they say Rwanda has deployed - notably "high-tech systems capable of neutralizing air assets" - to give the rebels "a decisive tactical advantage" over Congo's beleaguered army. The report was submitted to the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee for Congo in early May and is due to be published shortly, said diplomats. M23 has advanced in eastern Congo, seizing the region's two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu in January and February. Congo, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. Rwanda has long denied helping M23 and says its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The report by the U.N. experts said Rwanda's military support for M23 was not "primarily" aimed at addressing threats posed by the FDLR, asserting that Kigali was instead focused on "conquering additional territories". Rwanda's U.N. mission and a government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 3 out of 4 in Singapore cannot identify deepfake content: Cyber Security Agency survey Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty Singapore Three hair salons raided in clampdown on touting, vice, drugs in Geylang and Joo Chiat Singapore New $7.5m fund to encourage social service agencies to track impact of their programmes Singapore GrabCab, Singapore's newest taxi operator, hits the roads with over 40 cabs to be rolled out in July Singapore Police looking into claim by driver who caused teen's death that he was an NUS student Asia Dalai Lama says he will have successor after his death Business Cathay Cineplexes gets demand for $3.4 million in arrears from Jem landlord U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. On Friday the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington and met with Trump, who warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise" if the deal is violated. Qatar is hosting a parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23. The U.N. report said Rwanda has hosted leaders of a rebel coalition that includes M23 at its Gabiro Training Centre and also used military centres in Nasho and Gako to train M23 recruits. Rwanda also "drastically increased" the number of Rwandan troops in eastern Congo ahead of M23's advance, according to the experts, who offered "a conservative estimate of 6,000" Rwandan troops active in Congo's North and South Kivu provinces. The U.N. experts also accused Rwanda of "flagrant and systematic violations" of an arms embargo, and said a likely missile attack in January on an armoured personnel carrier carrying U.N. peacekeepers - killing one and injuring four others - appeared to have been fired from a Rwandan military position. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Rwandan troops were still active in M23-held territory when the report was drafted, and "several thousand" remained along the border ready to deploy, said the report, which covers investigations conducted up to April 20. PUSH FOR PEACE M23's military gains earlier this year spurred fears of a wider regional war drawing in Congo's neighbours, and also fuelled anxiety over the fate of President Felix Tshisekedi's government. In March M23 travelled as far west as Walikale, an area rich in minerals including tin, putting the rebels within 400 km of Kisangani, Congo's fourth-biggest city. The following month, however, M23 withdrew from Walikale, a decision the experts said was "taken following direct instruction from the Government of Rwanda, once again confirming Rwanda's command and control" over rebel operations. "This included strategic-level decision-making on whether to seize, hold, or relinquish territory, thereby demonstrating overall operational coordination and hierarchical subordination," the report said. The experts also accused Congo of relying on the FDLR and pro-government militia fighters known as Wazalendo, offering them money and logistics in violation of a sanctions regime. A Congo government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
Straits Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo/File Photo KIGALI - Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights. Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles." It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect. The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said in a statement that ECCAS members had "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil." M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal. Congo, the U.N. and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
