There is an African country that has just inaugurated the largest hydroelectric dam on the continent.

It is called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), it has an installed capacity of over 5 gigawatts and it will improve the lives of tens of millions of people.
And no, it was not born out of a ‘memorandum of understanding’, it is not the child of a ‘Mattei plan’ emblazoned with slides and press conferences, it is not the product of yet another Euro-African control room with finger food buffets and ‘shared vision’ statements.

It was born because Ethiopia wanted it. Full stop.

It almost makes one smile to think what Italian politicians would say about it. Those of the nationalist right, with their tone like colonial missionaries on a field trip, would present the dam as an act of Italic generosity, with a photo of some minister in a white helmet handing out patronising pats on the back to his ‘African brothers’.

The left, on the other hand, would shake their heads: talking about ‘the market’, ‘development’ and ‘big infrastructures’ is rude, it would be better to talk about ‘humanitarian aid’, inclusive and community projects that do not move people’s real lives one iota, but save the progressive conscience of those who finance them.

The reality, meanwhile, is that Ethiopia has invested $5 billion in a dam that doubles its electricity capacity and makes it an energy hub for neighbouring countries as well. Without paternalistic plans, without colonial rhetoric.
It has involved its own citizens, including those who have emigrated abroad, raising funds like a start-up.
It has resisted pressure from Egypt and Sudan, which were fearful for their water sovereignty, it has defied international diplomacy that wanted a more ‘moderate’ project, and it has gone straight ahead.

And we Italians? We were there, yes, but in the best way: with Webuild, which put in cement, engineers and expertise, not slogans.
This is the part that matters. Not ministerial proclamations, not bombastic titles, not summits with plasticised logos, but the concrete ability to build a work that produces wealth, development, energy.

Perhaps one day we too will understand: the green deal and dams are built with engineering, not press conferences.