Identity politics on the scales of democracy and justice (Geletaw Zeleke)
An article published last week on opendemocracy.net calls Ethiopians ‘to get rid of ethnic-based politics and engage in the counter movements of justice and democracy’. Though intended for an Ethiopian audience, the article makes a general claims that identity politics is irreconcilable with the basic tenets of democracy and justice. That is based on the … Read more
Why the Arab Spring failed to spread south of the Sahara? (Phil Clark)
Phil Clark, an academician specializing on African issues, published an interesting piece on ‘Why has the Arab Spring so far failed to spread south of the Sahara – and should some African leaders be looking over their shoulders?’. He begins with the premise that ‘all of the principal causes of revolution in north Africa also … Read more
The Economist’s article on Ethiopia’s maritime ambitions
Highlights: * …..losing the coastline has not scuppered Ethiopia’s merchant fleet. The state-owned Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL) has eight ships afloat and nine under construction in China.’ * [Ethiopian Shipping Lines] trade officials plan to do more business via the port of Berbera in Somaliland, a mostly unrecognised breakaway from Somalia, and with Port Sudan … Read more
Eritrea at 21: still in President Isaias’ unyielding grip
Eritrea celebrated its 21st independence day yesterday with President Isaias making his address to the nation in a manner that befitted his penchant for conspiracy theories. There had been a number of recent rumours suggesting he was seriously ill after he failed to appear in public for a month. The stories reached a point where … Read more
Analysis: Why Kenyan army left Kismayo port in Al-Shabaab hands?
Highlight: Critics also point to Kismayo. Last fall the Kenyan military made it clear that the Somali seaport of Kismayo was key objective. Al Shabaab used it as a communications and supply ink to Yemen and Eritrea. It is also a pirate haven, which is no surprise, since Al Shabaab maintains close ties with Somali … Read more
የማኅበረ-ቅዱሳን ሪፖርት| የዋልድባ ገዳምና የወልቃይት ስኳር ልማት ጉዳይ [Amharic]
መንግስት በትግራይ ክልል ወልቃይት ወረዳ የጀመረው የስኳር ልማት ፕሮጀክት በአካባቢው የሚገኘውን ጥንታዊው ዋልድባ ገዳም ላይ ጉዳት ያደርሳል በሚል ሲያወዛግብ መቆየቱ ይታወሳል፡፡ ጉዳዩን አስመልክቶ የተለያዩ አካላት መግለጫ የሰጡ ሲሆን፤ ባለፈው ሳምንት ደግሞ ማኅበረ-ቅዱሳን ሪፖርቱን አቅርቧል፡፡ ሪፖርቱ በዋልድባ ገዳም ሕልውና ላይ አደጋ እንደሌለ ቢያመለክትም በአቅራቢያው በሚገኙና ዝምድና ባላቸው ሦስት ቤተክርስቲያኖች በፕሮጀክቱ ሳቢያ እንደሚነሱ ይጠቁማል፡፡ መንግስት ጉዳዪን ያስተናገደበትን … Read more
Gibe III dam to be operational next year; World Bank ponders credit
Ethiopia’s Gibe III Hydropower dam will be operational by mid-2013. The Gibe III dam project, with about 1,870 MW installed power generation capacity, located in southern Ethiopia, is the biggest undertaking in the nation, second to the 6000 MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance hydropower project. The Gibe III dam project is now 55% complete, including the … Read more
The ‘African Century’ can Be Real | Wall Street Journal
Camp David has been the home to many historic moments, from triumphs in Middle East diplomacy to steely Cold War planning. The scene I witnessed there on Saturday—when African leaders from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania stood side-by-side with G-8 leaders—deserves to be celebrated as another landmark: the global recognition that Africa has the potential … Read more
The Female “Army” Leading Ethiopia’s Health Revolution
A fleet of 35,000 frontline extension workers and their “model” families are helping carry out Ethiopia’s mission to provide universal access to basic health services and are empowering communities to take charge of their own health from the grassroots. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, is also overwhelmingly rural. Bucking the global trend of mass … Read more
Egypt’s Presidential Elections: What do the Military Want?
On 23 May, Egyptians head to the polls to elect the first president of the post-Mubarak era. Whilst this is likely to be the freest election in Egyptian history, the process faces a number of constraints. Accusations abound that the ruling military council (SCAF) has used indirect pressure on the levers of state – especially … Read more
