Soft Ethiopian melodies drifted through the gardens at Ethiopia’s ambassador’s residence in Kololo on Tuesday evening as diplomats, academics, journalists, and guests gathered under African Union colours to mark Africa Day.
The event marked 63 years since African leaders met in Addis Ababa to establish the Organisation of African Unity, the precursor to the African Union. While the evening carried celebration, the conversations kept returning to one question: Is Africa being built for the next generation?
Ethiopia’s ambassador to Uganda, Etsegenet Bezabih Yimenu, framed the discussion around the AU’s 2026 theme on sustainable water availability and sanitation under Agenda 2063.
‘Water is not just a basic human right. It is the source of our industrialisation, food security, health and economic dignity,’ she said.
The conversation soon turned to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a project that has become both a national symbol for Ethiopia and a continental talking point.
‘The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a triumph of local engineering financed entirely by the sweat and resources of the Ethiopian people,’ the ambassador said, calling it proof that Africa has ‘the capacity, intellect and sovereignty to solve its own infrastructure challenges.’
Professor Emmanuel Kasimbazi, a Makerere University law scholar and environmental governance expert, warned that water stress and sanitation crises are rising faster than many governments expect.
‘The Africa we want cannot be built on parched earth. You have water on your table. You do not have oil. You cannot drink oil,’ he said.
Kasimbazi argued the water crisis is now a development emergency affecting food systems, health, education, and industry. ‘We are not just losing water. We are losing the very foundations of our future prosperity. Technically we agree. Politically, we don’t agree,’ he said of Nile Basin cooperation.
Carlos Ogik, Executive Director of Inside Diplomacy, pushed the discussion beyond infrastructure.
‘Water is not just a social issue. It is a health issue, an economic issue, a climate issue, a security issue and a development issue,’ he said.
He warned that no country can industrialise or build resilient health systems without sustainable water. But for Ogik, the deeper barrier is mindset.
‘Once we liberate our minds from dependence on what is foreign, that becomes the first step towards achieving the Africa we want,’ he said.
Public policy advocate Patience Namanya brought the continental debate down to daily life. She recalled growing up in a Pan-African household and learning African flags before mathematics, and linked water insecurity directly to girls’ education.
‘Water is not only about industrialisation, it is also about the future of Africa’s young people,’ she said. Namanya pointed to girls who spend hours fetching water instead of attending school, warning that climate change and poor sanitation are deepening vulnerability.
‘Young women should not only sit at the table for photographs, but to define what the future means for them,’ she said.
Former Finance Ministry undersecretary Betty Kasimbazi added a stark note.
‘The next war will be started by water,’ she said, recalling conversations at international climate conferences. She praised Ethiopia’s long-term planning while lamenting corruption and political indecision elsewhere on the continent.
After the speeches, the mood shifted. The DJ moved from Bob Marley’s Africa Unite to Philly Bongoley Lutaaya’s Born in Africa, Ali Mohammed Birra’s Eshurruru, and Eddy Kenzo’s Sitya Loss. Ambassador Etsegenet, her friend Yogi Biriggwa, and other guests took to the floor, closing the evening with dance and music that spanned the continent.