Horn of Africa News

Drought In The Horn Of Africa Threatening Food Security (KFF)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:27:00 +0000

"A drought in the Horn of Africa, triggered by the same La Nina episode that caused massive flooding in Australia last year, is plunging millions of pastoralists closer to food insecurity," Greenwire/New York Times reports in a story looking at how the drought is affecting several areas in the region. "Parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and eastern Uganda are most affected. ... The severity this year will depend on the rainy season between March and May," the news service writes. A total of 8.4 million people in the region currently need food aid, according to David Orr of the World Food Program (Vaidyanathan, 4/25).
"The current drought has the potential to be as devastating as that of 2009 if appropriate action is not taken immediately," according to a statement from the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA), which has 15 members, including CARE and Oxfam and is hosted by Save the Children, AlertNet reports. "We know the lessons from previous disasters and we have a moral responsibility to act, but we are limited by this lack of funding at a critical time," said CBHA Director Sean Lowrie.
Poor rains in the Horn of Africa have resulted in failed harvests, severe water shortages and animal deaths. CBHA said thousands of people have already left their homes to search for water and grass for their livestock. The need for funding for emergencies in the region is competing for attention with the demands of the situations in Libya and Cote d'Ivoire, aid workers point out (Migiro, 4/27).
Food Security Research In Syria
In related news, Cosmos examines research taking place in Aleppo, Syria. "[B]uried within the hundreds of thousands of plants that our ancestors didn’t pick (for one reason or another) are genes that have helped these wild plants survive in one of the harshest regions on the planet, enduring droughts, salinity and temperatures ranging from –12˚C to 50˚C. These genes now hold the hopes of scientists around the world and may offer a way to boost the output of regular crops. But thanks to the increasing focus on fewer and fewer higher-yield plants in modern agriculture, these genes – which could well be our saviours in the decades ahead – are fading into the background" (MacDonald, March 2011).
Source: Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report

Egypt moves to mend ties with Ethiopia (Saturday Nation)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:57:00 +0000

A 47-member Egyptian delegation has arrived in Addis Ababa to improve ties with Ethiopia after months of quarrelling over sharing of the Nile River water.

The delegation includes three presidential hopefuls and representatives of young people who helped topple president Hosni Mubarak.

Presidential hopefuls Hamdian Sabhy, Hisham Basetawsi and Bosayna Kamel, other key politicians and authors seek to convince Ethiopia to consider Egyptian interest in the Nile River.

Food crisis looms in Horn of Africa (UPI)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:31:00 +0000

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 4 (UPI) -- The number of people who may need emergency food assistance in the Horn of Africa could grow if spring rains are low, the World Food Program warned.
"More and more people need help in the Horn (of Africa) and we're now on high alert over the impact of the March to May long rains," WFP Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement...Read more

Ethiopia minister says ready to send troops into Somalia if Asked

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:47:00 +0000

By: Abdalle Ahmed
Mogadishu (RBC) Ethiopia's State minister for foreign affairs Berhan Jipkirist
dismissed claims about Ethiopian forces fighting inside Somalia alongside with
the transitional federal government forces of Somalia. The minister interviewed
by Almasri Al-Yom newspaper has denied that any of Ethiopian forces entered into
the Somali border and took fighting against Al Shabab rebel group...Read More

China, Russia Lead UN Bid to Stabilize Somalia, Combat Piracy

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:32:00 +0000

According to Bloomberg, China and Russia are leading a new effort at the UN to
curb the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia and defeat al-Qaeda-linked
terrorists fighting to seize control of the Horn of Africa nation...

I think this is a good move and hopefully will succeed. Good luck to them.

Ethiopian pop star to leave jail shortly (AngolaPress)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:11:00 +0000

Ethiopia's famous pop star, Teddy Afro, is set to leave jail within five months following an Ethiopian Supreme Court judge decision to reduce his six-year long sentence to two years on appeal, reports said.

Ethiopian Supreme Court Judge Daniel Melaku ruled on Wednesday that the popular pop star, jailed in December 2008 for dangerous driving and killing a homeless man on the streets of Addis Ababa and fleeing from the scene of the accident, would be freed within five months, in effect dismissing the manslaughter charges against him and re-sentencing him for a driving offence.

The judge ruled that the only crime committed by the pop star, whose anti-government lyrics made him a symbol of the opposition, was that he fled from the alleged scene of the accident and failed to help the victim.

The victim of the accident, identified as Degu Yibelte, was drunk and lay on the road before the accident occurred and the other witnesses also failed to assist the victim, the judge ruled.

Afro, whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun, remains one of the most famous Ethiopian pop stars.

The High Court Judge, who sentenced him to six years, said he avoided giving him the maximum sentence to allow him to reform while in prison.

Ethiopian troops again cross into Somalia (Xinhua)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:06:00 +0000

www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-19 00:12:35

BIADOA, Somalia, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Heavily armed Ethiopian troops have entered a district in south Somalia nearly a month after the troops left the war-torn country, witnesses said Wednesday.

Villagers in the southern Bakool region say the troops have crossed the border and set up bases in the village of Yeet, in Rabdhure district, 28 km south of the regional capital of Hudur.

Ethiopia withdrew its forces from Somalia after two years of presence in the country following the defeat of the Islamists that run much of southern and central Somalia in the later half of 2006.

It is not clear why the Ethiopian troops entered the region but there have lately been reports of troop movement by Somali government forces in Hudur in the Bakool regional backing officials who fled the southern town of Baidoa when it fell into the hands of the Al-Shabaab insurgent fighters last month.

Baidoa has been the seat of Somali parliament before its capture by the hardline Islamist group of Al-Shabaab which opposes the new Somali government leadership.

Residents in the villages around the border district of Rabdhuure say that the troops arrested a number of locals soon after entering the area.

In January, local officials charged that Ethiopian troops crossed over into the other Somali border region of Hiran in central Somalia, two weeks after their withdrawal from the country but the Ethiopian government denied the allegations.

Great marketing potential to be found in Ethiopia

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:15:00 +0000

DAILY DISPATCH ONLINE

2008/06/19

By LUYTON DRIMAN

THE aptly named Horn of Africa is for me, one of the most unique parts of this continent. Bradmanton Consulting

I cannot help but to discover a certain amount of mysticism during each visit.

The whole process of conducting business in Ethiopia is so different from most other African capital cities, mainly due to the fact that the Ethiopian economy is quite "closed", in as much as the Ethiopian Government has not allowed any international banks to open in the country. This means all import and export transactions are done via the three largest local banks.

The government also owns and controls all the service providers, like the telecommunication industry (fixed line and cellular), which essentially means in order to do business with these parastatals, you have to be registered as a supplier before you are able to tender for any projects. The local currency, the birr, is practically one-to-one with the rand. This means that the birr to the US dollar exchange rate is similar to that of the rand to the US dollar. [Read more]

At least nine die in Eritrea jail (Reuters)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:34:00 +0000

NAIROBI (Reuters) - At least nine political inmates have died in a secret Eritrean prison where they are routinely tortured using plastic whips, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Wednesday.

The media rights groups said an anonymous source detailed how detainees, including four journalists, were kept day and night under lights. Some were manacled and tortured, it said.

"The prison camp known as Eiraeiro is a disgrace for Eritrea and Africa," RSF said.

Asmara routinely denies criticism from foreign-based rights groups, accusing them of acting on behalf of some world powers.

Information Minister Ali Abdu says the government will not respond to "each stupid comment" by groups such as RSF.

The press freedom organisation called the prison on Eritrea's eastern coastline an "African gulag" and "daily hell."

It said the prisoners' heads were shaved every two months and they were allowed only 20 minutes per week to bathe.

Late last year, RSF called Eritrea the worst nation in the world for press freedom.

Lacking independent media and often accused of harassing journalists, Eritrea is consistently ranked among the world's top violators of press freedom by rights groups.

(Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: Reuters

DMLEK claims inflicting damage on Eritrean army (Walta)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Mekelle, January 29, 2008 (WIC) - Democratic Movement for the Liberation of the Eritrean Kunama (DMLEK) said it has consolidated its attack on the Eritrean government.

According to a press release it sent to WIC, the movement has inflicted damages on the regime.

DMLEK said it destroyed the agriculture office of the government in Binbilina town of Gash Barka Zone along with goods stored in a warehouse last week.

In this same operation it burnt out a military water truck and a tanker in Barentu town, the statement added.

According to the statement, 800 Eritreans caught while fleeing to the Sudan were arrested and jailed in a military garrison in Nakfa. Of those 16 managed to escape and entered the Sudan over the weekend, it stated.

The movement which pointed out the fleeing of more than 26,800 Eritreans to the Sudan finally urged the public and the army of Eritrea to stand up against the dictatorial regime.

Walta Information Center

AU unveils Road Map for peace in Somalia (Walta)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:47:00 +0000

Addis Ababa, January 24, 2008 (WIC) - The African Union's top security official has presented Somalia's leaders a four-point plan for creating stability in the country, according to VOA.

During a four-hour visit to Mogadishu yesterday, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit said Somalia is becoming Africa's biggest security challenge and described his stopover as a symbolic show of support for Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

Djinnit said he outlined to Hussain a proposal to initiate a road map that would be developed by Somali leaders in partnership with the international community.

Its four components would include strengthening the nation's political process through reconciliation, greater international involvement in peacekeeping operations, creating a safe environment for humanitarian aid deliveries, and building the capacity of federal government institutions to face the immense challenges ahead.

The commissioner expressed frustration at what he called the lack of international support for efforts to bring a stable peace to Somalia. He told reporters his eventual goal, and biggest concern, is persuading the U.N Security Council to re-establish the peacekeeping mission it abandoned in the face of uncontrolled violence 13 years ago.

"It is the issue at the heart of our concerns," said Said Djinnit. " We believe Somalia has been abandoned for so long, and the Security Council remains the principal body in charge of the maintenance of international peace and security, and Somalia is becoming the biggest challenge for security in Africa. And therefore the Security Council cannot but assume its responsibility vis a vis Somalia."

Djinnit chided the Security Council for its recent statement saying it was "reiterating its commitment to considering the possibility of deploying" a Somalia peacekeeping operation.

"If you look to ideal situation where peace is prevailing before deploying a peacekeeping operation, you might not get that ideal situation," he said. "So we are therefore calling for flexibility on the part of the United Nations in considering the situation in Somalia and in deciding as early as possible on the deployment of the peacekeeping operation to come and take over from the African Union."

The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, has an authorized strength of 8,000. But nearly a year after it was formed, less than one-quarter of the troops are in place.

Ethiopian troops are backing Somali's military in its campaign against Islamic insurgents, VOA stated.

But Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has repeatedly said he wants those troops replaced by a strong international force. Yet with Somalia among the world's most violent and gun-infested countries, and the United Nations balking at sending a peacekeeping mission, Prime Minister Hussein told reporters it is premature to set a date when Ethiopian troops could withdraw.

" To set a time maybe today it's not so easy, but you can see the efforts of the African Union, you can see the efforts of AMISOM [African Mission in Somalia] from time to time increasing their troops, and this will definitely set a way for us to discuss when and how the Ethiopian troops will be reduced," said Hussein. "So what we will try to do is have a very well-elaborated exit strategy."

Somalia's parliament chose Prime Minister Hussein last November to replace his predecessor Ali Mohamed Gedi.

Source: Walta Information Center

White Nile to Ink Oil Exploration Deal with Ethiopia (Fortune)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:29:00 +0000

White Nile Ltd., a British company quoted by Alternative Investment Market (AIM), will be signing an oil exploration agreement with the Ethiopian government next Tuesday, January 15, 2008, officials at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME) disclosed to Fortune. White Nile’s founder and Chairman, Philippe H. Edmonds, is expected to arrive in Addis Abeba, in order to sign the exploration agreement with Alemayehu Tegenu, minister of Mines and Energy, at the Sheraton Addis.

The deal will grant White Nile exploration rights over a 29,000Km area in Southern Omo and Borena - Southern Rift Basin - in Oromia and Southern regional states. The Council of Ministers has approved the concession request a few weeks ago.

This company will be the sixth firm to enter into oil exploration activities in Ethiopia: The most prominent among them is the Malaysian Petronas that is undertaking exploration activities in Gambella and Ogaden areas after signing an agreement in 2003.

Two years later, a company licensed in The Netherlands, Pexco, was granted a permit to explore for oil in the Ogaden. In 2005, a Hong Kong registered company, South-West Energy, owned by Teodros Ashenafi, signed a similar deal to get involved in the Afar Regional State. Another company conducting exploration in the same region is the United States (US) registered Afar Exploration, granted a license in 2006. The Swedish Lundia Petroleum AB, a company that is active in Sudan and Somaliland, was granted a licence in 2007 to explore for oil in the Ogaden area.

“We look forward to see White Nile conduct as significant exploration activities as all these other companies,” Minister Alemayehu told Fortune.

White Nile is very familiar to the area where it wants to conduct exploration now. It has conducted geological and geophysical surveys on 70,000sqkm area of the Southern Rift Basin for two years, after it entered into a join study agreement with the Ministry in July 2005. Its findings of deep basins, potentially containing sedimentary sections similar to that of the Muglad and Melut basins of Southern Sudan, is reportedly behind its decision to enter into an exploration agreement with the Ethiopian government.

In the new agreement expected to be signed next Tuesday, White Nile will be granted exploration rights for four years. However, depending on the progress it makes, the company’s licence could be renewed for an additional four years, according to Abiy Hunegnaw, director of the Petroleum Department at the Ministry. Following the disclosure of its prospective deal with the Ethiopian government, White Nile’s shares were trading 14pc higher than its 45.5p (8.5 Br) on the London Stock Exchange.

Nevertheless, the Nairobi based company has been a poor performer at the stock exchange last year, according to The Financial Times. Its shares dropped by 70pc in 2007, according to the newspaper, and suffered a loss of 1.4 million pounds (26 million Br). The company has failed to secure an oilfield in South Sudan known as “Block Ba”, claimed by TOTAL of France.

Sudanese state company, Nile Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Controls 44.67pc of its shares.

By ISSAYAS MEKURIA

FORTUNE STAFF WRITER

Sudanese Nile Petroleum to Become Leader in Energy Market (Addis Fortune)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:24:00 +0000

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME) is negotiating with the Sudanese giant, Nile Petroleum Co. Ltd (NPC), to grant it fuel blending rights in accordance with a decision made by the Council of Ministers to blend and supply ethanol and benzene. The negotiations are almost complete, sources at the Ministry told Fortune.

The talks, which began after MoME presented a Bio-fuel Development and Usage Strategic Document that envisaged using the country's rich ethanol potential, is expected to make Nile Petroleum the leading stakeholder in the Ethiopian oil energy market.

A steering committee has been established with representatives drawn from MoME, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) and the six oil suppliers to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility studies, though the total cost of the project will be incurred by Nile Petroleum.

"We will cover the entire cost of the project once the agreement is finalised," Sharaf E. Babkir, general manager of the Ethiopian branch of Nile Petroleum, told Fortune. "The negotiations are in the closing stages, and we will submit our final proposal early this week."

The Ethiopian government chose this company based on a bilateral relations agreement signed with Sudan and Nile Petroleum's capacity.

The Ethiopian branch of Nile Petroleum, a subsidiary of NPC, has secured a 20,000sqm plot in Sululta, 24Km north of Addis Abeba, in the Oromia Regional State, for the construction of a fuel depot which will have a combined capacity of 300tns of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and 1,500 cubic metres of Petroleum.

NPC was established in 1954 as Nile Import and Trading Oil Company a subsidiary of TOTAL, with the Sudanese government holding a 75pc stake until 1993. The company, totally state-owned since 1993, has a 60pc share of the marketing and distribution of petroleum products in Sudan.

The local branch first obtained a license from the Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) to distribute LPG and in 2004 it upgraded its license to cover its planned expansion project.

Endorsing a strategic document, the Ethiopian government is now focused on exploring the country's bio-fuel resources. It stipulates incentive schemes for sugarcane producers, a major input for ethanol, in addition to encouraging state-owned enterprises to use blended oil. Providing incentives for Flex Fuel Vehicle importers as well as securing finances for the sector has also been recommended.

To satisfy the total petroleum demands in the country, Ethiopia annually spends 8.6 billion Br, 87pc of its total foreign trade earnings, and a serious drain on its limited foreign currency holdings.

Though the government hopes to switch to alternative energy sourceS to relieve this burden, some petroleum supplying companies are sceptical of the benefit they will get out of this venture.

"Though shifting from benzene to blended oil has its own advantages, there is doubt as to who is going to benefit," the marketing manager of one of these companies told Fortune. "There are associated costs like installing new fuelling machineries, and our benefit should be considered when we are made to shift to a new service."

Nile Petroleum currently has four tankers in Sululta; two for benzene and two for diesel. However, the two diesel tankers are set to be used for storing benzene.

"We will also install another two ethanol storage tankers, which will be increased after three years given a higher demand," Sharaf told Fortune.

A veteran expert who for the last 30 years worked in the petroleum industry, however, warns that the blending is sensitive as ethanol is prone to absorbing water.

"Though blending is customary in other countries too, if water accidentally enters in the early stages of the process, the project may fail as people will loose trust in it," he told Fortune. "The water makes the ethanol unable to mix with benzene."

The necessary supply of the ethanol input is also in question.

Of the three state-owned sugar factories, Fincha currently produces eight million litres of ethanol while the other two - Metehara and Wonji Shoa - do not produce.

However, as the latter two are under expansion, in addition to the newly constructed huge Tendaho sugar factory, it is expected that ethanol supply would significantly increase, a source at the Ethiopian Sugar Development Agency (ESDA) told Fortune.

The total ethanol production is expected to reach 35.1 million litres in 2010 when Metehara and Wonji switch to the production of ethanol rather than Molasses.

Nile Petroleum also has planned to open its fuelling stations in Addis Abeba, though its request for plots is yet to find a response from the municipality.

"We had requested eight different plots in Addis Abeba to no avail," Sharaf disclosed.

The Council of Ministers decided at its regular meeting in 2004 that the petroleum sector should be open to domestic and international investors to curb the distribution problems prevalent in the country.

The sector has since seen a couple of investments, mostly by Ethiopians, including NOC, YBP and the Kenyan Kobil.

Nile Petroleum, the latest to have joined the sector, undertakes petroleum exploration, refining, storage and marketing in Sudan.

Source: Addis Fortune

Somali car bomb kills Ethiopians (BBC)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:20:00 +0000

Two Ethiopian soldiers have been killed by a car bomb in the Somali town of Baidoa on Wednesday evening.

The bomber's target was an Ethiopian military post close to the hotel where the prime minister, Ali Mohamed Ghedi, was staying.

After the attack, Mogadishu-based Simba Radio aired an Islamist insurgent commander's claim of responsibility for the attempted assassination.

Somali forces have raided the radio and arrested its chief Abdullahi Ali Farak.

A reporter at the station said a journalist was also arrested in the raid, and the radio ordered to shut down.

A reporter at the scene says the area has been sealed off since the blast, but eyewitnesses say a suicide bomber driving a car also died.

"The explosion was so deafening and strong it rocked our entire hotel compound," an aide of the prime minister, Mohamed Abdi Haji, told AP news agency.

Mr Ghedi is in Baidoa for what correspondents expect to be a showdown between him and the president, Abdullahi Yusuf, on Friday.

Cabinet move

More than 20 cabinet ministers have asked parliament to intervene on the simmering conflict between the president and prime minister.

The BBC's Mohamed Ibrahim Mualimu in Baidoa says the ministers who are allied to the president want parliament to vote on whether the government should be dissolved or not.

The two leaders have disagreed on whether the term of current transitional government which was formed in 2004 should end this Friday or in October 2009.

President Yusuf argues that constitutionally the government's term ends this month since it was formed three years ago, but his prime minister insists that the charter legalising their mandate was signed in 2006.

Parliament is expected to convene on Friday but its not clear whether the motion will be tabled.

Source: BBC website

Eastern Africa Power Pool project to kick-start on April (Walta)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:10:00 +0000

Addis Ababa , October 27, 2007 (WIC) - Residents of Moyale are set to benefit from electricity supply from Ethiopia, following an interconnectivity agreement between the two countries, Business Daily reported.

The linkage is the first phase of the Eastern Africa Power Pool project, which aims at interconnecting more than seven countries in this region. The project will be implemented from April next year.

Executive Secretary of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), Callixte Kambanda, said the connection would go on even as several studies leading to the project's master plan continue to be carried out.

Ethiopia has finished its feasibility study and will ''soon'' be rolling out distribution into Kenya through Moyale. Extension from there, however, is subject to Kenya completing a feasibility study that has been delayed since May, it said.

The regional project aims at connecting Kenya to Ethiopia, Uganda to Rwanda, Ethiopia to Sudan, Sudan to Egypt, and Kenya to Tanzania. Other participating countries include Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Burundi and Somalia, it was pointed out.

One of the major challenges facing the regional power project is lack of funding to facilitate the ongoing studies and the infrastructure roll-out, according to the Executive Secretary.

''Because not all members can afford the financial resources required, we shall approach the private sector to come in as partners,'' said Kambanda.

The project aims at guaranteeing access to electricity among participating countries, especially when supply constraints like drought lead to power rationing in the face of growing demand.

Kenya will be connecting its one millionth customer later this year and plans to connect another one million people in the next five years.

Tanzania plans to connect an additional six million people by 2013.It hopes to get at least 75,000 new users on the national grid annually to increase electricity consumption to 1,100 megawatts over the next two years.

Source: Walta Information Center

Moyale to access power in regional plan

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:14:00 +0000

October 26, 2007: Residents of Moyale are set to benefit from electricity supply from Ethiopia, following an interconnectivity agreement between the two countries .

The linkage is the first phase of the Eastern Africa Power Pool project, which aims at interconnecting more than seven countries in this region.
The project will be implemented from April next year.

Callixte Kambanda, the executive secretary of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) said the connection would go on even as several studies leading to the project's master plan continue to be carried out.

Ethiopia has finished its feasibility study and will "soon" be rolling out distribution into Kenya through Moyale. Extension from there, however, is subject to Kenya completing a feasibility study that has been delayed since May.

The regional project aims to connect Kenya to Ethiopia, Uganda to Rwanda, Ethiopia to Sudan, Sudan to Egypt, and Kenya to Tanzania. Other participating countries include Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Burundi and Somalia.

One of the major challenges facing the regional power project is lack of funding to facilitate the ongoing studies and the infrastructure roll-out.

"Because not all members can afford the financial resources required, we shall approach the private sector to come in as partners," said Mr Kambandaa.

The project aims at guaranteeing access to electricity among participating countries, especially when supply constraints like drought lead to power rationing in the face of growing demand.

Kenya will be connecting its one millionth customer later this year and plans to connect another one million people in the next five years.

Ethiopia has similarly set a target to connect 21 per cent of its population by the year 2050. Tanzania plans to connect an additional six million people by 2013.

It hopes to get at least 75,000 new users on the national grid annually to increase electricity consumption to 1,100 megawatts over the next two years.

Another challenge facing the power pool is the search for alternative sources of electricity, to reduce high dependency on hydro-generated electricity which is affected by the changing weather conditions.

According to the project secretariat, geothermal power will be a key focus.
Source: Business Daily

UN council demands Darfur parties attend talks (Reuters)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:58:00 +0000

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council demanded on Wednesday that Sudan's government and Darfur rebels attend peace talks starting over the weekend and threatened action against anyone impeding the negotiations.

The council statement, which said an urgent cease-fire was the talks' first priority, came after a U.N. envoy appealed to the reluctant and disunited rebel groups to show up, saying they could still consult each other as negotiations proceed.

One of several obstacles to the talks between the Khartoum government and rebels from Darfur in western Sudan has been the rebels' inability to agree a common platform. The parties are set to meet on Saturday in the Libyan coastal town of Sirte.

Rebel leaders said on Tuesday a prominent Darfur faction chief and five smaller groups would not attend because African Union and U.N. mediators had not heeded requests for a delay to let them form a united position and agree upon a delegation.

The council called on "all parties to attend and to engage fully and constructively in the talks and, as a first step, to urgently agree and implement a cessation of hostilities to be overseen by the United Nations and African Union."

"The Council underlines its willingness to take action against any party that seeks to undermine the peace process, including by failing to respect such a cessation of hostilities or by impeding the talks, peacekeeping or humanitarian aid," the official policy statement added.

The action was not spelled out and diplomats said failure to attend the talks would not qualify for it. The statement "doesn't mean that simply non-appearance equates to impeding the peace process," said British Ambassador John Sawers.

Earlier, U.N. envoy Jan Eliasson, who will mediate in the talks along with AU envoy Salim Salim, said the "moment of truth" had arrived in the 4 1/2-year-old Darfur conflict and it was essential to get the talks going before momentum was lost.

Talking to journalists at the United Nations by video link from the Eritrean capital Asmara, he conceded that expectations might have to be lowered on the open-ended talks U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon originally billed as "final."

Eliasson said invitations had only been sent out a week ago and he did not know which among more than a dozen rebel groups would come. "It's a moving target right now. ... I don't have the final list yet," he said.

HEAT ON REBELS

International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes in the Darfur conflict, which began with a revolt against the Sudanese government, but Khartoum puts the death toll at 9,000.

Trying to win over undecided groups, Eliasson said: "I want to very clearly make the point that the consultations that they are carrying on now ... will of course also continue in Sirte.

"The real negotiations will start only after we have the full preparations of the parties," he said.

Sudan's government has pledged to attend the talks and its U.N. ambassador welcomed the Council statement as turning the heat on rebels after previous statements faulting Khartoum.

"It's good that they criticize now and that they point their fingers towards the rebels," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem told journalists.

Eliasson said he now had "very little hope if any" that Sudan Liberation Movement founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, who has a wide following in Darfur refugee camps, would come. El-Nur has demanded a string of concessions from Khartoum.

Eliasson also noted that Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the main branch of the Justice and Equality Movement, had asked for a month's delay. But he said he had assurances that Ibrahim would send high-level representatives to Sirte.

The Security Council statement also called on U.N. member states to urgently provide aviation and ground transport units still needed for a 26,000-strong U.N.-AU peace-keeping force that will assume its duties next year in Darfur.

U.N. officials are worried that a lack of such specialized units, especially helicopters, could delay the deployment.

Source: Reuters

The Genesis Of Eritrea's Slavery Project

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:51:00 +0000

On October 23, 1995, exactly 12 years ago, the National Service programme took effect in Eritrea. Over the years, as the pre-war, war and post-war environment came to define Eritrea, clauses in the proclamation that were applicable for exceptional situations such as states of emergency became the norm, resulting in a nation where practically all citizens over the age of 18--anywhere between 400,000-800,000 people--are in a constant state of mobilization for the last 12 years. There are Eritreans who were 18 in 1995, who had every reason to expect to resume their lives in 1997, but who have been in the frontlines for the last 12 years. This, then, is the genesis of Eritrea's enslavement project, the so-called "Warsay-Yeka'alo Initiative."

Under the proclamation, all Eritreans between the age of 18 and 50 are required to participate in the National Service. This is because the National Service program is defined as "active national service and reserve military service." Those recruited for active national service (18-40 year olds) are supposed to avail themselves for 18 months: a six-month military training followed by 12 months of service in national security or national development programmes overseen by the military. The Reserve is for the 40+ Eritreans.

Only four classes of Eritreans are exempted from National Service: (1) Those who already gave national service prior to the promulgation of the law and (2) "fighters and armed peasants who "have proved to have spent all their time in the liberation struggle"; 3) those who, for health reasons, are unable to participate in the national service (but are still required to participate in 18 months of public service.) and (4) those participating in an approved educational programme. Non-exempt individuals may travel out of the country if they post a "60,000 Birr" bond.

The Creeping Enslavement

There are several factors that contributed to the establishment of a campaign-without-end in Eritrea.

1. Absence of Democracy: Like all laws in Eritrea, the National Service was presented as a proclamation. It was not debated by the people, nor the people's representatives, nor was it voted on. It was simply proclaimed as law. Thus, there simply is no mechanism for the people to register their approval or disapproval of the law or whether its harm outweighs its benefits. Not coincidentally, the loudest exponents of the National Service are those who have made sure that they, and their loved ones, are out of its harm way.

2. Bait and Switch: National Service was presented as a noble duty on all citizens and only requiring 18 months of sacrifice. But the proclamation has an escape clause: 18 months of service unless Eritrea is facing mobilization or a state of emergency. And the nation, mostly due to the rash decision of its self-declared leaders, has been in an undeclared state of emergency for more than half of its existence now. Consequently, most of the National Service members have been pressed into service now for 5, 8 and 10 years.

3. Vague Goals: Many Eritreans state that the youth would have been demobilized if the Eritrea-Ethiopia border were to be demarcated. But this assumes that the purpose of the National Service program is purely of a military nature. Depending on the priorities of the regime, this is subject to change. The National Service is a military program (national security), as well as an economic program (national development) and a social program (integration of the society.) A government without any constraints to its power can invoke any reason at all to press the youth into indefinite military service, if it is in its interest to do so.

4. Corruption: The Proclamation speaks of non-existing institutions like the "ministry of local government" and "board" that is supposed to have oversight over the proclamation. But ever since the arrest of Mahmoud Sheriffo, the ministry of local government has been dissolved and its functions divided up among the military command zones and their "desks." The board was supposed to review applications for exemptions from applicants claiming exemption from the service. This is now done by the generals who require huge fees and bribes to bestow the "unfit" certificate on the children of parents with means.

Conclusions

The Eritrean government, which is made up of the leaders of a guerrilla movement whose fighters had no breaks, nor vacations, and knew nothing but work, wants to apply its culture to a younger generationunder the guise of passing over a proud legacy of determination, resolve, and hard work. But there is no professional army in the world that requires of its active-duty members to serve without pay, rotation or breaks. The consequences of trying to apply guerrilla culture to a professional army have been devastating: Eritreans are flowing out of the country by the hundreds and those who remain are embittered by their experience of being the slaves of corrupt and abusive generals. At the root is: the National Service Proclamation.

Source: awate.com

Sub-Saharan Africa growing faster than the world economy, says top UN dev't official (Walta)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:35:00 +0000

Addis Ababa, October 18, 2007 (WIC) - Addis Ababa, October 18 (WIC) - The head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reported that for the first time in years countries in sub-Saharan Africa are actually growing faster than the global economy, according to UN News Center.

''When one looks at the numbers, one can actually feel somewhat encouraged in terms of overall economic progress," UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis said at a press briefing in New York, having just returned from a two-week trip to Eastern and Southern Africa.

He noted that average GDP growth in 2000-2003 was 3.7 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, and 5.6 per cent in 2004-2006, which is '' perhaps the most rapid growth overall in sub-Saharan Africa that we've seen in decades.''

Although the final numbers for this year are not yet ready, growth in the region will probably be around 6 percent more than 1 percent higher than the global average. ''For the first time in a very long time sub-Saharan Africa is actually growing faster than the world economy,'' he said. '' I think that is quite significant.''

He also noted that over the last six years, oil-exporting countries have grown at about one and a half percentage points faster than oil-importing countries. This means that some of the oil-importing countries are growing quite fast, despite the heavy burden placed on them by high oil prices.

Another significant trend is the fact that during the same time frame, the ratio of investment to GDP has grown from 15 to 20 percent. While that is ''very significant '' in a region that has ''huge'' investment needs, Dervis said it is not sufficient as Africa should probably invest some 25 to 28 per cent of its GDP. '' But still, moving from 15 to 20 is quite considerable,'' he added.

Responding to concerns that sub-Saharan Africa is currently off track for meeting any of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the ambitious targets the world has set itself for slashing poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy by 2015 Dervis admitted that it will be difficult for most African countries to meet all the Goals by the target date.

However, he stressed that progress has accelerated towards the MDGs, including in relation to primary school enrolment and access to clean water. '' Some countries are making quite rapid progress and that progress is now accelerating,'' he noted.

Dervis praised the leadership in many African government ministries, which he said is characterized by a '' new 'can do,' results-oriented and pragmatic attitude.'' At the same time, he stressed the need to build local and national capacities.

One area in which capacity building is vital is foreign investment, which plays a critical role in Africa in such areas as infrastructure, mining and oil. He stressed that the capacity to negotiate contracts with foreign investors that are truly beneficial to the country and that share the benefits between the foreign investors and the local economy deserves greater attention.

'' In some countries, a good contract can make the difference between a project that will just be an enclave paying very little taxes, bringing very little benefits to the local economy [and] a project that is truly benefiting the local economy,'' he stated.

''Sometimes two or three well-negotiated contracts are financially equivalent to maybe the whole of the foreign aid that goes into an African country.''

Source: Walta Information Center

US company to invest USD 50mln in coffee farm, roasting facility (Ethiopian Reporter)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:02:00 +0000

B&D Food Corporation, an American-based company, is set to invest USD 50 million in coffee farm and erection of a roasting facility in Ethiopia under its recently established subsidiary, BDFC Ethiopia Industry PLC.

The company has already secured 5,000 hectares of coffee farm in Jimma, Oromia region, on which it will be producing "high quality" Ethiopian coffee, company representative Benjamin Petel told The Reporter in a statement on Sunday. BDFC Ethiopia will also erect a coffee roasting facility around the coffee farm site, which had last week been handed over to it by the Oromia Investment Commission. Presently, the company is finalizing preparation to embark upon the project.

"BDFC Ethiopia intends to begin planting in the coming months and, in parallel, is working on building a processing factory on the plantation grounds," Petel said. "B&D hopes to process the high quality Ethiopian beans in order to produce both roasted and instant coffee blends that are intended to be sold worldwide."

The company will invest over USD 50 million in both the acquisition and plantation of the farm and erection of the roasting facility, Oromia Investment Commission Commissioner Alemu Sime told The Reporter. The company also plans to build resorts in the farm area, according to the commissioner. "Although the company's representatives initially came to Ethiopia only to erect a roasting facility, they had, after visiting the site, also proposed to build recreation centers and launch a coffee plantation farm."

B&D is currently examining several offers of companies bidding to assemble the roasting factory, according to Petel. "B&D's current capabilities and expertise are both in the roasted and instant coffee fields. The company wishes to continue this line, by using the high quality Ethiopia coffee beans and therefore requires a state-of-the-art factory capable of producing the full range of coffees, like the one the company currently owns in Brazil," Petel said.

Three years from plantation on the farm, the company's projected export of roasted and instant coffee is 12,500 tonnes (on an annual basis), according to Petel. The vast majority of B&D Ethiopia's produce is intended to be processed and sold as instant and roasted coffee.

"B&D Ethiopia will hopefully create job opportunities for several hundred people. It is currently examining these figures and hopes to determine its employee capacity soon." Petel said.

B&D Ethiopia is destined to become a major exporter of roasted and instant coffee beans in Ethiopia, as there are barely companies engaged in that line of business, albeit the country being the birth place of coffee.

B&D Food Corp.'s management has 30 years of experience in the coffee business. Based in the US, the company operates in the food and beverage industry, specifically in coffee and related products. It has a coffee production facility in Brazil.

By Hayal Alemayehu

Source: Ethiopian Reporter

Somalia to send delegation to Beijing Olympics (china.org.cn)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:12:00 +0000

Somalia, though not totally free from the plague of civil conflicts, will send a delegation to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Duran Farah, head of international relations of Somalia National Olympic Committee (NOC), told Xinhua News Agency on Thursday in an exclusive interview that the Somalia NOC has maintained taking the responsibility to organize a delegation to take part in the Olympic Games over the past years, despite many difficulties.

The Horn of Africa country has been without authorities since 1991.

The Beijing Olympic Games will not be an exception and Somalia will send a delegation which is not large, said Farah.

The official noted that the Somali delegates will not only come from those living within Somalia but include some people residing abroad to escape domestic strife to present opportunities for both the groups.

For the preparation work done by the Chinese side, Farah revealed that some Somali official has been to Beijing to see the situation. "There are lots of hot preparation going on at the moment (in China), and we are confident about the Beijing Olympic Games and eager to be there."

In addition, Farah said China has played a role in promoting the sports development in Somalia. The largest stadium in East Africa thirty years ago was built by Chinese in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Farah was in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to participate in the Olympic Solidarity Forum preparing a delegation for participation in the Olympic Games, which was organized and funded by the International Olympic Committee.

The two-day forum started on Thursday during which the Chinese side will report their preparation work for the Beijing Olympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2007)

Restraint urged after Sudan split (BBC)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:53:00 +0000

The US has called on the ruling parties of north and south Sudan to exercise restraint after the ex southern rebels withdrew from the unity government.

Diplomats fear the move could jeopardise the 2005 deal that ended the 21-year north-south civil war. [Read more..]

Mafia accused over nuclear waste

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:56:00 +0000

A Mafia clan linked to six blood feud murders is being investigated for the alleging trafficking of nuclear waste and plutonium production, reports claim.

Two members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, a Calabrian clan, are accused of shipping radioactive waste to Somalia, along with eight former employees of state energy research agency Enea, the Guardian reports.

Francesco Basentini, a magistrate from the southern town of Potenza, is investigating claims that the mob men were paid off by the Enea staff, taking shipments of waste from the agency's centre in Rotondella, Basilicata, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The allegations were made by a 'Ndrangheta turncoat, who claims an Enea manager paid the two clan members to dispose of some 600 drums of nuclear waste, with 500 shipped to Somalia and 100 buried in Basilicata (the 'Ndrangheta being unwilling to bury the waste in Calabria due to "love of their home region").

An anonymous Enea manager denied the turncoat's allegations, saying: "Enea has always worked within the rules and under strict national and international supervision."

The 'Ndrangheta clan are accused of exploiting links with Colombia to become Europe's biggest cocaine importer, while the August shooting of six Italians in Germany has been linked to a blood feud with a rival clan from San Luca, Calabria.

Nicola Gratteri, the magistrate investigating the murders, argued that nuclear waste disposal and even the production of plutonium would not be an unlikely activity for the 'Ndrangheta, the Guardian quoted him as saying.

"The 'Ndrangheta has no morals and, if there is money in an activity, it will have no problem getting involved, even nuclear waste," he said.

However, he complained the European police forces had a lax attitude to clans like the 'Ndrangheta or the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

"The mafias were the first to take advantage of Europe's disappearing frontiers," he said, "but when I go to Germany I see they have not introduced the crime of mafia association and do not allow wire taps in public places.

"I'm tired of round tables and conventions; what we need is more courage," he added.

Source: inthenews.co.uk

Somali car bomb kills Ethiopians (BBC)

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:20:00 +0000

Two Ethiopian soldiers have been killed by a car bomb in the Somali town of Baidoa on Wednesday evening.

The bomber's target was an Ethiopian military post close to the hotel where the prime minister, Ali Mohamed Ghedi, was staying.

After the attack, Mogadishu-based Simba Radio aired an Islamist insurgent commander's claim of responsibility for the attempted assassination.

Somali forces have raided the radio and arrested its chief Abdullahi Ali Farak.

A reporter at the station said a journalist was also arrested in the raid, and the radio ordered to shut down.

A reporter at the scene says the area has been sealed off since the blast, but eyewitnesses say a suicide bomber driving a car also died.

"The explosion was so deafening and strong it rocked our entire hotel compound," an aide of the prime minister, Mohamed Abdi Haji, told AP news agency.

Mr Ghedi is in Baidoa for what correspondents expect to be a showdown between him and the president, Abdullahi Yusuf, later this week.

Source: BBC

US policy on horn of Africa aimed at dismantling Al Qaeda network, says Frazer

noreply@blogger.com (Blogsbiz) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:58:00 +0000

Addis Ababa : United States policy towards the Horn of Africa is aimed at dismantling the Al Qaeda terrorist network and ensuring stability, good governance, democracy and sustainable development, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi E. Frazer says.

Frazer told the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Senate last week that the policy the US government was pursuing in the Horn was not beyond ensuring peace and helping advance development in Ethiopia and neighbouring countries.

She said that the over 100-year Ethiopia-US relationship was based on mutual understanding and friendship while the activities being carried out jointly by the US and Ethiopia as well as civil society had won appreciation.

The pardons granted by the Ethiopian government to the leaderships of the CUD based on their request and in accordance with the law of the country had opened a door for political tolerance, she said.

Frzaer said the improvement of the code of ethics governing the members of the House of Peoples Representatives was a good measure taken to give attention to opposition parties.
She called on opposition party leaders to get ready for negotiation and contribute their share in building democracy in the country.

Frazer said when she visited Gode in September this year, she had observed the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) was becoming provocative. She said the killing of nine innocent Chinese and 77 Ethiopians was a manifestation of its provocative act in the region.
She urged the Ethiopian government and international community to exert efforts aimed at minimizing the danger posed by ONLF.

She also expressed the US government's commitment to provide emergency support and other aids to the people in the regtion.

Frazer said the Eritrean government was fuelling the situation in Ogaden by providing support to the ONLF and other extremists in Somalia.

The deployment of Ugandan troops as part of an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia and the recent national reconciliation conference held in Somalia were glimmers of hope for ensuring peace in that country, Frazer added. She said the US would extend the necessary support to re-build war-devastated Somalia.

Frazer expressed eashington's concern over the human rights violations in Eritrea, where no election had been held since the country's independence 14 years ago.

She said Eritrea, which has no constitution at all, is a country where there are thousands of prisoners of conscience languishing in prison.

Source: Indian Muslim News and Information