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African Union starts week long celebration of 50th anniversary

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:28:07 +0000

African nations this week mark the 50th year since the founding of a continentwide organization that spearheaded efforts to liberate Africa from colonial masters. Now leaders want to map out the next 50 years of political and economic integration.

Konjit Sinegiorgis was a young diplomat tasked with distributing documents to the assembled heads of state when the founding congress of the Organization of African Unity was held in May 1963. Sinegiorgis said the OAU "brilliantly" accomplished its primary task.

"Its primary mandate was to liberate Africa from the shackles of colonialism and apartheid. I think in that regard it has done brilliantly," said Konjit, now Ethiopia's ambassador to the African Union, the successor to the OAU.

The weeklong 50-year celebrations culminate Saturday in the Ethiopian capital where African leaders will be joined by foreign dignitaries including United States Secretary of State John Kerry. African leaders will also consider Agenda 2063, a blueprint they say will bring socio-economic and political transformation to the continent.

Kerry, who recently expressed concerns over China's growing influence in Africa, is expected to be joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Vice Premier Wang Yang, at the celebrations in the AU headquarters, a building whose $200 million constriction costs were paid by Beijing.

The 53-member African Union, which began in 2002, has been trying to emerge as a force for stability on a continent regularly troubled by violence, conflicts and coups.

One key achievement of the OAU and AU "has been to set standards and norms that we are now using at the continental level," said Erastus Mwencha, deputy chair of the AU. "We are now talking of having norms such as a protocol on governance, on elections and so forth."

As the AU strives to make peaceful transfers of power across Africa the norm, it often sanctions coup leaders and suspends membership of states. But it also often fails to mobilize resource to enforce its decisions. The AU is also a long way from its founders' dream of a united Africa. The continent sees a huge disparity in the economic and political conditions of its nations.

South Africa is an economic power, while citizens in countries like Somalia, Sudan, Congo and Chad suffer from warfare and poverty. A coalition of over 120 civil society groups from across Africa and the Middle East on Wednesday issued a warning about conflicts in Sudan. The groups called on the AU to support a bolder approach to peace there.

But the continent also boasts nine of the world's 15 fastest growing economies, Rwanda President Paul Kagame wrote last weekend in The Wall Street Journal, and the AU head says the continent's future is brighter than its past.

"If you look at the last 10 years, Africa has been growing economically," said AU chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. "There has been quite a lot of development even in terms of infrastructure, not enough yet, but countries have been working hard."

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says Africa's medium-term growth prospects remain strong, at 4.8 percent in 2013 and a projected 5.1 percent in 2014.

"Yet this impressive growth story has not translated into economic diversification, commensurate jobs or faster social development," said the U.N. in its latest report. "Most African economies still depend heavily on commodity production and exports, with too little value addition and few forward and backward linkages to other sectors of the economy."

Improvements are being seen in education, child and maternal mortality rates, and gender equality. As Africans leaders meet later this week, the 50-year strategic plan is expected to be high on the agenda. Dlamini-Zuma said the decades-long quest for Africa's political and economic integration are to be answered by the blueprint.

Energizing and galvanizing the people of the continent toward an African Renaissance is the aim of the week's celebrations, Dlamini-Zuma said over the weekend.

As Africa looks to write plans for the future, activists are calling for more efforts to respect its citizens' rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote to Kerry to urge him to include the issue of press freedom in his discussions at the AU Summit.

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Ethiopian activist Bogalech Gebre wins King Baudouin Prize

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:04:11 +0000

Ethiopian activist Bogaletch Gebre has won an international prize for her campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM).

She was awarded the King Baudouin Prize in Belgium for confronting "culturally entrenched taboo subjects", the selection committee said.

She helped reduce cases of FGM from 100% of newborn girls to less than 3% in parts of Ethiopia, it said.

FGM is practised mainly in communities in Africa and the Middle East.

Also known as female circumcision, it is seen as a traditional rite of passage and is used culturally to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable.

It typically involves removing the clitoris, and can lead to bleeding, infections and childbirth problems.

The Belgium-based King Baudouin Foundation awarded Ms Gebre the 450,000 euros prize for her "innovative" campaign to eradicate FGM.

The Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma (KMG) group, which she founded, focused on arranging "community conversations" in areas of Ethiopia where illiteracy levels were high and FGM "endemic".

From BBC

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Boat capsizes on Lake Tana killing five people on board

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:27:58 +0000

According to Sudan Tribune, at least five people died when a boat carrying 110 passengers overturned on Lake Tana in Ethiopia’s north western region of Amhara on Monday.

The boat was travelling to attend a religious event at an island monastery in the Derji area of Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile River.

Local residents helped the rescue operation. According to the Amhara regional police, the boat overturned when it was only 20 meters away from reaching the port.

The cause of the accident is yet to be announced, however initial reports blame bad weather conditions. There was heavy rain that led into sudden strong wave which is believed to be cause to the accident.

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Jose Mourinho to leave Real Madrid

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:16:58 +0000

Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after the club and the coach agreed to his departure by mutual consent, the club's president Florentino Perez has announced.

Mourinho will take charge of Real Madrid's final matches of the Primera Division season, away to Real Sociedad on May 26 and at home to Osasuna on June 2, after which he will depart the club.

Perez declared that Mourinho had come to an agreement with the club to rescind his contract.

"The club and the manager agree that the timing is right to bring our relationship to an end," Perez said at a press conference this evening.

"On behalf of the directors, I would like to thank Jose Mourinho for his hard work over the last three years."

From The Telegraph

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister comes out in strong defense of Somaliland

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:41:36 +0000

From Midnimo

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn declared bi-partisan support for Somaliland in the case of military action against the threat from neighboring Somalia and other external militants such as al Shabab.

The Prime Minister delivered the keynote speech this weekend in the Ethiopian Parliament in front of Ethiopian legislators.

PM Hailemariam specified that Ethiopia is ready to provide diplomatic, military, and economic support to Somaliland “should they need it”.

He underlined the long bilateral relationship between the two Horn of African states saying Somaliland and Ethiopia cooperate on many fields including security, economy and education.

He told the Ethiopian lawmakers that he recently dispatched more than a dozen directors and chairman to Somaliland as a part of a high-level technical committee that will study ways to enhance relations. He said he wants to expand existing ties to reflect on the modern geopolitics of the region.

The Prime Minister hopes the two sides will soon sign an official bilateral strategic cooperation agreement. The technical committee has been doing its studies for the past three years. Last year the gathering was held in the Ethiopian chartered city of Dire Dawa and this year in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa.

“Somaliland is a friend and a key strategic ally for Ethiopia. We will spare no expense to defend and protect Somaliland. We are ready to extend an arm of support to our Somaliland brothers every time they are in need of one,” he told the Parliamentarians.

He said that the Ethiopian armed forces were ready to fight along side those from Somaliland and offer them technical support as well as training. He said he was wary of militants from Somalia who are spurring out off that country due to military pressure from the African Union troops (AMISOM).

He did not specify if Ethiopia would support Somaliland forces against armed forces from from Somalia but he has indicated Addis Ababa will spare no expense to ensure the existence of Somaliland. He strongly emphasized that his government will standby Somaliland against any threat from “any direction”.

This is the first time one of the key nations in East Africa has openly offered its direct support for Somaliland since ending its bitter marriage with Somalia two decades ago.

The keynote speech by PM Hailemariam comes during time when there is diplomatic rift between Hargeisa and the internationally recognized but powerless government in Mogadishu.

Equally it coincides with Somaliland’s 22nd anniversary of Independence from the rest of Somali Republic.

His message has received overwhelming support throughout Somaliland and residents have welcomed PM Hailemariam’s strong support. Somalilanders consider Ethiopia the closest ally and their ties traces back to more than 300 years.

It was just weeks ago when Prime Minister Desalegn received the Somaliland President Ahmed Silanyo at his official residence in Addis Ababa.

The two heads of State concurred on the enhancement of security, education and commercial ties.

“Somaliland and Ethiopia share cordial relations of which we are determined to not only sustain but enhance as well,” President Silanyo told Somaliland and Ethiopian reporters.

On his part, Prime Minister Hailemariam, expressed Ethiopia’s interest in fostering stronger relations with Somaliland based on mutual benefit.

He said “Ethiopia is ready to further bolster its relations with Somaliland administration in the areas of trade, education, capacity building and port services.”

He also underscored that Ethiopia will extend support to Somaliland in order to ensure that Al-Shabaab forces who are fleeing from Somalia will not pose a threat to Somaliland.

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St George defeats Egypt's ENPPI 2-0

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:30:11 +0000

Ethiopia's Saint George defeated Egypt’s Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries Club (ENPPI) 2-0 in CAF Confederation Cup group today.

Shimeles Bekele opened the scoring after six minutes and Abebaw Butako added the second 19 minutes later.

Saint George, who were knocked out of the African Champions League at the hands of Egypt's Zamalek, came close to doubling the score after the break but ENNPI's keeper Mohamed Abdel-Monsef kept alive his team's hopes with some heroic saves.

ENPPI will face an uphill climb to overturn the two-goal deficit when they host Saint George in the second leg in Cairo in two weeks time.

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Changing Ethiopia's economy Bethelem's style

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:13:34 +0000

For Bethlehem Tilahun, the answer to ending poverty in Africa is not aid or sympathy or donations from the West. It's shoes.

Specifically, building a successful shoe manufacturing business that creates jobs, empowers employees, like the one she founded Ä

SoleRebels, the first ever global footwear company to come out of a developing country.

“You don't build your economy based on aid, you want to build your economy based on the way SoleRebels built its business, so that it's sustainable,” Bethlehem told AFP.

SoleRebels highlights how burgeoning enterprises can transform economies across Africa.

Keep reading here

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Change looms for Ethiopia's ancient salt trade

admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:55:56 +0000

Tradition of hacking salt slabs from the earth's crust and transporting them by camel is changing as a paved road is built across the northern Afar region.

Although the road being cut through the Danakil Depression is making it easier to transport the salt, the region's fiercely independent local salt miners and traders are wary of the access it might give to industrial mining companies with mechanized extraction techniques that require far less labor.

The tarmac road will link the highland city of Mekele with the village of Dallol in the Danakil Depression, a harsh but hauntingly beautiful geographical wonder of salt flats and volcanoes once described as "a land of death" by the famous British desert explorer Wilfred Thesiger.

The road has cut from five hours to three the drive from Mekele to Berahile, a town two days' trek by camel from the Afar salt deposits that one of Ethiopia's main sources of the crystalline food product.

New roads like these are gradually helping to transform this landlocked Horn of Africa state, which has a unique culture and history but has been racked by coups, famines and droughts, into one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent.

As Africa's biggest coffee producer, Ethiopia's economy remains based on agriculture, which accounts for 46 percent of gross domestic product and 85 percent of employment. But its nearly 94 million population - the second biggest in Africa - is attracting the attention of foreign investors hungry for new markets.

Keep reading from Reuters

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Egypt going through worst economic crisis

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:17:15 +0000

According to the Guardian, Egypt is suffering its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In terms of its devastating effect on Egypt's poorest, the country's current economic predicament is at its most dire since the 1930s.

Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt has experienced a drastic fall in both foreign investment and tourism revenues, followed by a 60% drop in foreign exchange reserves, a 3% drop in growth, and a rapid devaluation of the Egyptian pound. All this has led to mushrooming food prices, ballooning unemployment and a shortage of fuel and cooking gas – causing Egypt's worst crisis.

For most Egyptians, rising food prices are the most critical problem. Some goods have doubled in price since last autumn – catastrophic for the quarter of families that already spend 50% of their income on food.

Inflated food prices are not a new phenomenon in a country that is the world's biggest importer of wheat, where the population has long risen more rapidly than production, and where up to half of the produce rots in the heat on the way to market. But the recent rate of inflation has been significantly raised by Egypt's disastrous economic predicament.

Most problematically, the value of the Egyptian pound has fallen by 12% against the dollar since December. For two years, Egypt's central bank had used its foreign currency reserves to arrest the slide – but with those reserves having shrunk by around 60% since 2011, the bank had to abandon the tactic last winter. As a result, the pound's value has this year fallen further and faster. In turn, it has become much more expensive to import foreign goods – catastrophic for a country that buys in 60% of its wheat, and whose farmers also often rely on imported fertilizer, fuel and animal feed.

The pound's devaluation has also made it harder for the Egyptian government to import fuel. The state has subsidized diesel (along with goods such as bread, cooking gas and fertilizer) since the dictatorship of Gamal Abdel Nasser. But with those subsidies now accounting for over a fifth of the Egyptian budget, and with a budget deficit of 13%, the state cannot afford to support the population at the level it once did. As a result, there are daily shortages at pumps across Egypt, long queues – and, at times, fatal fights.

So far, Mohamed Morsi's Islamist-led government has attempted to keep Egypt afloat with short-term measures. It has accepted loans and grants worth more than $5bn from Gulf States such as Qatar, and interest-free fuel handouts from neighboring Libya. Domestically, it has avoided major economic reforms that might cause short-term upheaval – perhaps fearing bread riots similar to those experienced in 1977, when the then dictator Anwar Sadat first temporarily tinkered with subsidies. Instead, Morsi has focused mainly on meaningless initiatives such as tax rises on peripheral imports such as shrimp and nuts, or closing shops early at night to save electricity. Morsi has also attempted to legalize the controversial sukuk, an Islamist form of government bond that may help to bring in more short-term cash.

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Body of suspect in Bahir Dar massacre identified

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:50:16 +0000

The man responsible for the Bahir Dar massacre has been found dead this morning.

The Amhara region police confirmed today that the killer was disgruntled due to a rejection by a woman he loved. Her mother was the first victim.

He continued randomly shooting people on the street, causing the death of another eleven and seriously injuring another two.

The gunman who had shot and killed more than twelve innocent people was identified as Constable Fekadu Nasha and said to be from Oromiya region.

Constable Fekadu has managed to escape pursuit by security officers jumping into Blue Nile River from a bridge at a specific location called Chore-Chora. His body was found this morning after a high-profile search by the Federal police and local militia.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalgne issued a prompt press statement on Monday calling the massacre “cruel, outrageous and unacceptable”.

From Daniel Berhane Blog

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