Thursday, June 29, 2017

The Numbers Say the Ethiopian Economy Is Doing Very Well. Reality Says Many Ethiopian

For some, the emergence of Ethiopia as Africa’s third-largest economy is cause for celebration. The ancient nation skirting the continent’s horn recently surpassed its southern neighbor Kenya as the largest economy in East Africa with a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $78 billion. The first country to open an electric cross-border railway line in Africa, Ethiopia’s rapid economic expansion is due to major innovations in industry, irrigation and energy alongside its successful attraction of foreign investment. In 2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was named “Man of the Year” by Africa World News for sustaining the country’s substantial economic growth.
But for many Ethiopians, there is little to celebrate. The country remains desperately poor with the World Bank reporting Ethiopia’s per-capita income to be $619, well lower than the regional average. With food aid expected to run out next month, the United Nations estimates close to eight million Ethiopians are in danger of starvation. Human trafficking continues to be a major problem for the country’s poverty-stricken migrants. And human rights abuses have been rampant given ongoing land grabs by the Desalegn regime and its violent crackdown on associated protests, press and media freedoms.
Accordingly, some believe Ethiopia’s recent economic growth was not forged for its masses of struggling citizens but upon their backs.
“In the name of modernization, people have been forcibly removed from their land to clear those lands for sugarcane and cotton plantations,” says Anuradha Mittal, founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, an independent think tank for international policy matters. The California-based institute’s recent report on Ethiopia notes its government’s plan to become one of the world’s largest sugar producers and exporters by 2023. Because of the associated displacement, explains Mittal, you had “widespread protests last year that led to more than 36,000 people being arrested. So, you have every political opposition leader behind bars, you have no freedom of press, you have people being arrested for challenging the government’s plan to take over their land with no compensation” while the country’s “newspaper editors and indigenous leaders have all been locked up” and charged as “terrorists.”
For the past eight years, the institute has shed light on how Ethiopia’s economic expansion has masked human rights abuses and how its government has displaced millions of small farmers while moving forward with plans to earmark over 15 million hectares of land for large-scale agricultural investors. It has further exposed the torture, oppression and silencing of those who have attempted to resist forced removal in indigenous and pastoralist communities within the Afar, Oromia and Amhara regions.
“Last year, we brought in a team of lawyers from very respectable law firms in Europe and the United States,” says Mittal, noting they reviewed how the Ethiopian government employed its ‘terrorism’ designation. “It was obvious that it does not meet any international standards and is a misuse of law to basically cause the complete elimination of human rights in the country.”
Some see things differently. In December 2015, upon a deadly crackdown on protests triggered by a scheme to expand administrative control in the Oromia region — and six months after the ruling party won a highly questionable 100 percent of the seats in the Ethiopian parliament — the government accused protesters of links with terror groups without any significant evidence. “Destructive forces are masterminding the violence from the front and from behind,” offered Desalegn on state television, adding the authorities “will take merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilizing the area.”
Such inflammatory rhetoric continues to accompany the Desalegn regime’s relentless economic agenda. Legitimate or not, part of the reason why a country like Ethiopia can ‘succeed’ economically while its citizens do not lies in the ongoing use of gross domestic product as the primary measure of a country’s economic performance. GDP is the total monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country in a year. As such, it does little to account for the health and well-being of citizens since a nation’s elite class, which commonly controls major industry, can substantially increase profits and raise GDP without any significant change in the plight of the masses. Because of this, the Social Progress Index (SPI) is considered a more effective measure of national well-being as it accounts for such basic human needs and indicators as water, nutrition, sanitation, shelter, safety, access to information, personal rights, freedom, environmental quality, education, opportunity, tolerance and inclusion. When compared to countries with similar economies, Ethiopia performs poorly in a number of key SPI categories including access to water, nourishment, education, information and basic freedoms of expression and movement.
Despite these poor indicators, strategic investment allies like the U.S. can still point to GDP, positive economic growth and counterterrorism efforts as an ironic justification for its alignment with such repressive regimes. A bill promoting democracy and human rights accountability in Ethiopia has sat before the U.S. Congress for over a decade.
“The unfortunate reality is the United States has chosen to turn a blind eye to these widespread human rights abuses despite the evidence Congress has seen,” says Mittal, lamenting how America continues to “provide aid for very problematic programs which lead to the displacement of people. But also, because Ethiopia is an ally in the ‘War on Terrorism,’ the United States has not pushed for democracy.”
Still, Mittal believes change in Ethiopia can happen. “It is very important that its international allies here in the United States and the World Bank start putting pressure on the country to allow basic freedoms,” she says, citing an urgent need for independent media and fair elections.
Mittal takes it one step further. “I think we have to question the whole development paradigm.” Displacement of communities and the destruction of land, homes and families, she continues, should not be regarded as “development. It is important that international institutions such as the World Bank stop promoting very harmful development strategies which deliberately profit a few corporations” while a nation’s people are “starving.”
“So, I think we have to challenge the whole development model itself.” Read more here

Ethiopian inaugurates second Addis Ababa cargo terminal

Africa’s largest cargo operator, Ethiopian Airlines, has inaugurated its Cargo Terminal-II facility at home hub Addis Ababa
The ceremony was attended by Ethiopia’s prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, transport minister Ahmed Shide and Ethiopian Airlines Group chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam, along with participants from the ICAO Cargo Forum being held in Addis Ababa.
Desalegn said: “Today, the national flag carrier has become the largest aviation group and the fastest growing airline in Africa, unrivalled in efficiency with shining operational excellence. Above all, Ethiopian Airlines has played an important and irreplaceable role in the development of the economy, export and import activities and foreign exchange earnings.”
Tewolde acknowledged the partners who contributed to the completion of the project and said: “The new Cargo Terminal-II combined with our existing Terminal-I will give us a total tonnage capacity of around 1m per annum which is the largest in the continent of Africa.
“This milestone will make Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services one of the world’s largest cargo terminals; comparable with cargo terminals in Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi or Hong Kong.”
Covering a total area of 150,000 sq m the new facility includes a dry cargo terminal warehouse, a perishable cargo terminal with cool chain storage, fully automated with elevating transport vehicle (ETV) technology and an apron area for five additional large freighter aircraft.
The new terminal is also fitted with different climate chambers for storage and handling of temperature sensitive products such as fresh agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and life Science Products. Read more here

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Sudanese president to attend AU summit in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will attend the African Union (AU) ordinary summit in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa next week, official SUNA news agency reported Wednesday. 

The summit, scheduled on July 3-4, will review Sudan's files on "the status of security and peace in Africa, anti-terrorism, issues of smuggling and human trafficking and the situation in Libya," Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Gariballa Al-Khadir was quoted as saying. 

The African leaders are also expected to discuss the AU institutional reform, regional economic integration and the African stance on how to reform the UN Security Council. Read more here

Council of Ministers Approves Draft Legislation to ensure Oromia’s Special Privilege in Addis Ababa

Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – The council of ministers has approved a draft legislation that ensures Oromia regional state’s special interest in the capital Addis Ababa.
While addressing questions raised during a discussion held with elders three weeks ago in Nekemte town, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said activities are being undertaken to ensure the special privileges of Oromia State in Addis Ababa, in accordance with the constitution.
Hailemariam on the occasion said that discussions have been held with concerned bodies on how the region can benefit economically and socially from Addis Ababa.
The draft bill that was approved today by the council of ministers to ensure the special privilege of the State of oromia, will be presented to the House of Peoples’ Representatives for final approval in the near future. Read more here

Twenty-six Ethiopians arrested in Karonga for illegal entry into Malawi

ILO appeal for Ethiopians stuck in Malawi prison to be flown home
Ethiopians illegally in Malawi
Police in Karonga on Monday, arrested 26 men who are believed to be Ethiopian citizens, for entering into Malawi without travelling documents.
This happened ‪on Monday midnight‬ at Katili. This is the area that Government intends to relocate the Dzereka refugee camp, which is currently in Dzeleka in Dowa.
According to Karonga police spokesperson George Mlewa, this follows a tip from responsible citizens.

Mlewa said the Ethiopians were in four by four vehicle vehicle, and belonged to Mr Amedi Hassan Abubo of Dowa district.

“They were coming from Chitipa to Karonga through Karonga-Chitipa M1 road. However, after seeing a snap police roadblock, the driver changed the direction to Karonga Airport and then to Katili,” said Mlewa.

The district police spokesperson said upon reaching Katili, the driver stopped the vehicle and run to the nearby bush together with the Ethiopians.

However, the police captured and arrested all the Ethiopians and took them to Karonga police station together with the vehicle.

According Mlewa, the arrested suspects, who are between the age of 25-35 years, will appear before court very soon, to answer the charge of illegal entry.
Meanwhile, police said they are still hunting for the driver, and the other Ethiopians.
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