Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mining and Petroleum says the natural gas deposit identified so far could generate $6 billion revenue over 20 years. Chinese company is to develop and market it. Unclear how much Ethiopia is spending for the project
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited rep. making speech on the occasion of singing the deal. Photo credit : Prosperity Party
borkena April 24, 2020
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited, Hong Kong-based multi-billion dollar Chinese petroleum and natural gas developer, has signed a deal with the Ethiopian government on Friday, Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.
The Chinese company provides oil & gas development, transportation, storage, sales services among other things.
According to the agreement, the company will construct a pipeline to make the natural gas available to a domestic and international market.
The product for the international market will be exported to Djibouti first, through a pipeline, and transformed into a liquid one. The company says, as reported by EBC, it can transform up to 215 million cubic feet of natural gas to liquid daily and make available up to 1.5 million metric tonnes of liquid natural gas.
It is also indicated in the agreement that about 190 million cubic feet of natural gas will be available daily for a local fertilizer company, yet to be constructed, as reported by the source.
Natural gas is developed in Kalubna and Hilala areas of the Ethiopian Somali region.
The Mining and Petroleum Ministry says Natural gas and oil exploration is underway in six regions in the Ogaden area. An estimated eight trillion cubic feet of natural gas is available in the region.
It is unclear as to when the project is starting. Moreover, how much the Chinese company is making from the project is unknown.
Based on a Reuters report, China’s POLY-GCL Petroleum Group Holdings Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a $4billion project with neighboring Djibouti.
Eskinder Nega reportedly released in the evening after locked up in a police station for several hours, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
Eskinder Nega, leader of Balderas for Genuine Democracy Party. Photo credit : MerejaTV
borkena April 25, 2020
Reports from Ethiopia indicate that Eskinder Nega was arrested on Saturday in the capital Addis Ababa.
BBC Amharic Service cited a member of Balderas for Genuine Democracy Party, a party whose leader is Eskinder Nega, to report that police arrested Eskinder on alleged grounds of violations of the state of emergency legislation that was declared to prevent the spread of Coronavirus disease.
Demolition of houses was underway in Kolfe Keraneo sub-city of Addis Ababa while the media, state media, or otherwise, was dominated by Coronavirus disease and government mobilization to respond to the disease.
BBC Amharic service reported on Saturday Eskinder was arrested in connection with that but the source said that it could not establish what exactly was the violation of the law.
As it turns out, Eskinder is released hours after he was detained in a police station. He was released around 9 p.m. local time.
News of his arrest triggered outrage in social media against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration.
“We are the voice for our people and the people are a voice for us. The people liberated us,” said Eskinder Nega as cited by Balderas Council.
Photo from Donald Trump twitter account. (resized)
borkena April 25, 2020
A day after pledging ventilators to Lenin Moreno, the president of Ecuador, US President Donald Trump disclosed that he had a conversation with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He said his country is in a position to help Ethiopia with ventilators.
“Just spoke to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia. His Country needs Ventilators, and the U.S. is in good position to help him. We will!,” Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday.
Earlier, Trump tweeted about adequate ventilators production in his country.
“It is a wonderful feeling to know that our States are loaded up with Ventilators, many brand new and high quality just off of our production lines, and that we are now in a position to help other countries that so desperately need them. Every person needing a Ventilator got one!”
Whether he is intending to donate them to Ethiopia for free or sell it to Ethiopia is unclear.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed that he had a phone conversation with the US president. He called his conversation “encouraging.”
“Encouraging phone call with @realDonaldTrump reconfirming continued US-Ethiopia relations. Appreciate the commitment of support to #COVID19 prevention and mitigation efforts as well as on desert locust control,” he tweeted.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been reaching out to leaders of different countries soliciting support for the fight against the spread of Coronavirus disease in Ethiopia.
Among others, he had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe.
As well, he had several virtual meetings with leaders of several African countries on ways to coordinate the response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
This month, he asked for a 150 billion dollars aid package to Africa from the G-20 to ease the economic impacts of the Coronavirus disease.
Major General Teklebirhan Woldearegay was one of the top Federal government officials during the 27 years of Tigray People’s Liberation Front dominated Federal government. Now confined to Mekelle after TPLF lost domination over federal power, he says we struggled to liberate Tigray. Our struggle was not about Ethiopia.
Maj. Gen. Teklebirhan Woldearegay during interview with Tigray Media House. Photo : screenshot from video
borkena April 26, 2020
Major General Teklebirhan Woldearegay, former General Director of Information Network Security Agency, one of Ethiopia’s intelligence apparatus, has about a two hours interview with Tigray Media House.
He talked about Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), what he thinks why TPLF failed, and what should be the focus now for ethnic Tigray nationalists, and the influence of regional and global state actors in Ethiopia – among other issues.
TPLF’s manifesto in the 1970s stated the establishment of ethnic Tigray republic as the primary goal of the organization’s armed struggle. However, TPLF leaders including the late Meles Zenawi denied that they struggled to secede Tigray from the rest of Ethiopia.
Former TPLF combatant and Director of Information Network Security Agency, Major General Teklebirhan Woldearegay, bluntly said that they struggle to liberate Tigray.
He expressed regret that one of the political mistakes of TPLF was the formation of the EPRDF coalition which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dissolved to form a single united party.
Major General Teklebirhan Woldearegay was Abiy Ahmed’s boss in the Information Network Security Agency but he fired him. “I fired him because he started to become politically active,” he said.
Asked what he now thinks of Abiy Ahmed’s government, he said that it is “telalaki” ( which could translate as a puppet government or mercenary).
He sees what he calls imperialist interventions from the western and Gulf countries. Influence from the Gulf region is also motivated by religion, he said. “The Chinese imperialist presence is economic but it could change to a political one in the long run,” he added.
M, General Teklebrihan is one of the few TPLF elites who was in a top Federal government position for a good part of TPLF dominated administration for 27 years. Yet, he did not shy away from expressing his deeply held hate towards Ethiopia. He made numerous negative assertions including “there has never been a state in Ethiopia.” Prime Minister’s Abiy Ahmed’s government is a “parasite,” and that “Ethiopia as a country can not be reformed.”
The focus of Tigray Nationalists should be “to be themselves,” he argues. He meant secession from Ethiopia but again he overtly said that he does not like the “secession” label. It is added with propaganda meaning for the pro-Ethiopian camp, he says. The least that Tigray should aim for is “confederation.”
At one point he stated that TPLF lost power because of the “gravity from Menelik era institutions was heavy.” Looking back, he said, “I now regret that I learned Amharic in elementary schools.”
The two parts interview with Tigray Media house was in Amharic. Part I and II of it are featured below :
Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association has announced that it is closely following the case of Ms. Elsabet Kebede, a lawyer who has been imprisoned illegally by the government several weeks ago.
Elsabet was arrested in Addis Ababa, where she resides, by the local Police and, after spending the night in prison, sent to Harari region where she was accused by the regional district attorney’s office of “spreading false information about the spread of COVID-19.
According to the association, although Elsabet has argued that her case falls outside of the regional court’s jurisdiction and asked the court to dismiss the case for this reason, the court has overruled her argument. Additionally, although Police has not yet completed the process of inspection and the district attorney has also not officially opened a case against Elsabet, court sessions are being held and the district attorney is arguing to prove her guilt. This, according to the association, is also a breach of legal procedures.
The Association has also announced that Elsabet is currently without a lawyer because the lawyer provided by the regional government withdrew from the case for “personal reasons” after a plea for bail had been overruled by the court. All attempts of the association to provide Elsabet with a lawyer have failed because all the lawyers with a license to practice in the region have refused to take the case “in a way that is quite unclear.”
Since Elsabet’s initial arrest, protests have been heard from several prominent activists and politicians calling for her release. According to them, the arrest is politically motivated, and the disregard for legal procedures since the time of her arrest proves this.
Elsabet had become well-known for speaking out against the government structure implemented in the Harari region (known as 50-50-0) which reserves regional public offices for members of two ethnic groups, namely Harari and Oromo and denies members of other ethnic groups the right to hold public offices.
The last census shows that a considerable proportion of the population in the region is from Ethnic groups other than the two. For example, 22 percent of the population is made of the Amhara while the Harari comprise only 8 percent of the total population. Ethnic groups such as Guragie, Argoba, Tigrie and Argobba also have significant presence in the region. However, because of this 50-50-0 rule, more than a third of the population is alienated from the political scene in the region. Many, including Elsabet, have called the practice an instance of Apartheid. A similar practice is also implemented in the City Administration of Dire Dawa, where 80 percent of public offices are reserved for and shared equally between the Oromo and the Somali while leaving 20 per cent for members of other ethnic groups.
Many are convinced that Elsabet’s speeches and writings against these practices are what made her a target of the government. The accusation presented against her of “spreading false information about COVID_19 is, they say, a mere pretext. Allegedly, the false information is a Facebook post that claimed that an infected person has sat down with two high ranking officials of the region to chew Chat, a common practice in Harari.
Two days after Arega Yirdaw submitted a letter of resignation as CEO of MIDROC Technology Groups, Ethiopian born Saudi Billionaire Al Amoudi is letting him go. Getachew Hagos will take over as interim CEO.
Arega Yirdaw (left), former MIDROC CEO, and Getachew Hagos(right), Interim CEO
MIDROC Ethiopia, whose owner is Ethiopian born Saudi Billionaire Mohamed Al Amoudi, was experiencing challenges in terms of investment environment especially following the political reform measures since Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in April 2018.
The pressure was strong in the Oromo region of Ethiopia. MIDROC investment group has about 26 investments in the country and one of the lucrative businesses was gold mining. But its license was suspended, soon after Abiy Ahmed took over power, on alleged grounds of pollution. Political pressure from ethno-nationalist groups was a key factor- as was in the news sometime in 2018.
It seemed, however, as if there was no disagreement between MIDROC management and the owner, Mohammed Al-Amoudi who was released from Suadi prison sometime in January 2019.
The CEO’s, Arega Yirdaw, resignation letter to Al-Amoudi indicates that there had been back and forth conversation between the former and the latter.
In the letter dated April 25, 2020, the CEO expressed gratitude for the owner for providing him the opportunity “to serve his country” as CEO of MIDROC Investments.
He used to live in the United States some 22 years ago, and was approached by Al- Amoudi to return home and manage investments on his behalf, as noted in the letter. He has been serving as CEO for the past 20 years.
Arega Yirdaw then went on to outline what he described as challenges in managing the twenty-five investments under MIDROC. While pointing out that he overcame challenges in his managerial work without imposing himself like a boss, the ones he was facing in the last two years were strong and manifested themselves as “pressures,” – from different directions as he puts them. “
“Individuals who appointed themselves over MIDROC” whom he described as “disrespectful” towards the management and management team members proved to be difficult – even posed security challenges.
He specifically cited challenges concerning the Adola (Lege Demi) Gold Mine project and Elfora Agro business in the Beshilo area. In the case of the latter, unemployed youth in the region were claiming part of the land which was given to Al-Amoudi’s with an investment license. The management expressed that it can not give the land pointing out that it is the owner who is the right person to do that. Based on the CEO’s narrative, the situation put him in a difficult spot for he was seen as standing between land claimants and the owner – Al- Amoudi.
Arega wanted the owner to personally respond to the demand, which had also become a government position, which seems to be part of the reason for the rift between himself and Alamoudi.
Citing those and other challenges, Arega requested approval for this resignation as the CEO of 25 MIDROC investments. But he asked to remain the president of Unity University which he co-owns.
Al- Amoudi’s response
Al-Amoudi’s response to the resignation came on April 27. An alleged letter from him is circulating on social media.
“…You have served as CEO of MIDROC Group for a long time. However, at this time you are aging and I have understood that you need a rest. Moreover, we could not agree on some major issues and that you are scared to do your job…I have decided that you end your role as CEO of MIDROC companies except for your role as president of Unity University.”
Arega’s authority to manage bank accounts for these is to cease immediately.
Getachew Hagos is to take over from him as interim CEO of MIDROC, Al-Amoudi has decided.
Ethiopian long-distance running legend Haile Gebreselassie said his investment in Tepi, Sheka zone was attacked ; lost 28 million birr
Haile Gebreselassie . Photo from the twitter page of Haile.
borkena April 27, 2020
Greatest Ethiopian long-distance runner in history Haile Gebreselassie managed to make himself one of the greatest businessmen in his country. It is unclear when exactly the incident happened.
Ethnic nationalism born political radicalism has created a fertile condition for pervasive lawlessness. It has turned life to hell to many Ethiopians as well.
A report published this week by the Ethiopian Reporter indicates that Haile Gebreselassie has lost an estimated 28 million birr worth of property due to vandalism.
Apart from hotel and tourism, and manufacturing, he is in the agribusiness industry. And it was one of his agribusiness projects, which he co-owns with his wife – Alem, which got attacked.
His 1100 hectares of the coffee plantation is located in Tepi town, Sheka Zone, in Southern Ethiopia. The region is within Southern Ethiopia Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR)
What exactly happened?
The Ethiopian Reporter quoted Haile Gebreselassie as saying: “There is no peace and stability around the Tepi area. The locality is administered by gangsters. When workers march to work armed men fire at them. So we are unable to deploy workers in the coffee farm to pick coffee beans. In the last two years we could not harvest coffee.”
Haile said the estimate of the damage is 28 million billion.
The coffee plantation project only has created an employment opportunity for as many as 600 citizens. According to the Ethiopian Reporter, it could even go up to 1000 during harvesting season. All of Haile’s investments employ as many as 3000 citizens. He was working to employ 7000 more people had the economy not slowed down due to coronavirus.
The region is one of the areas affected by the security crisis – especially since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power.
Haile remarked that the government needs to take action to ensure the rule of law and order, as reported by the Reporter.
Moreover, he said the local community needs to be part of the effort to ensure peace and security. Closure of investment activity could negatively affect the livelihood of the local community, he said.
Haile Gebreselassies’ investment is severely impacted by the Coronavirus situation, as hotels are almost closed and no tourism activity currently.
Marathon motors, his car assembly plant for which he spent 250 million dollars – according to The Reporter -, is not functioning to full capacity either.It can assemble 36 cars per day but it is operating with only 5 percent of its capacity, he told the Reporter.
Ethiopia has not much financial package to offer to its business community affected by the Coronavirus situation. Government is attempting make tax a little easier by introducing economic stimulus package
borkena April 28,2020
As is the case with the rest of Africa, if not the world, Ethiopia’s economy is severely impacted by the Coronavirus disease. The issue has been a concern for the Ethiopian government.
The Council of Minister had an emergency meeting on Tuesday to pass a decision on the draft economic stimulus package. The decision is informed by the assessment that the coronavirus situation has economically affected the livelihood of the majority of Ethiopians
The package is partly intended to avoid layoffs of employees in various sectors of the economy. According to a report by state-affiliated Fana-Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), the Ministry of Finance proposed a detailed plan of actions, to the council, to help employees keep their jobs.
Businesses who have been donating to help support government response will pay up to 20 percent less (apparently based on their contribution) than what they are supposed to pay in taxes during the current fiscal year. Moreover, they are given a one-month extension to declare, pay value-added tax, and turnover tax.
Employers who are unable to pay pension contributions to their employers due to the economic slowdown could pay starting from July 8, 2020.
The s hotel and tourism sector have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Several hotel owners in the capital Addis Ababa and other cities have offered their hotels for the government to use them as isolation centers for travelers arriving in the country after the government introduced the regulation that all travelers had to go through two weeks of mandatory quarantine.
For example, Ethiopian Airlines, one of the major revenue earners for the country, reported about $550 million dollars in revenue losses since the pandemic hit in January. It has grounded over 70 percent of its planes and is now struggling to survive with income trickling from the Cargo stream.
Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers has also discussed loan agreements and drafted legislation for loan approval. Most of the funds will be spent on infrastructure and other development projects in different parts of the country. The leadership claims that the loans are Concessional loans in terms of interest rate (less than 1 percent) and grace periods. The Council has passed the draft agreement to the parliament for approval.
Guinea-worm disease (GWD) posing a challenge in Gambella, South Western part of Ethiopia
Kan Galwak, Head of Gambella Regional State Health Office. Photo : ENA
borkena April 28,2020
As Ethiopia is waging an all-out war against the spread of Coronavirus disease by emphasizing prevention, Guinea-worm disease (GWD) is becoming a threat in the South Western part of the country.
Gambella Regional State Health Office disclosed on Tuesday that Guinea-worm disease is resurging in the region, as reported by State Media – Ethiopian News Agency.
Kan Galwak, head of the region’s health office, is cited as saying that the region has been free from the disease for more than two years.
Dibacho locality in the Gog district is especially affected. An unspecified number of residents in the district are reported to have the GWD disease.
A new settlement for agrarian life, unclear if it was authorized by the government, in the area exposed community members to unsafe drinking water. That is the explanation from the regional government.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes GWD as a disease caused by “parasitic worm Dracunculus medinensis or “Guinea-worm”. An infected person could have “intensely painful oedema, a blister and an ulcer accompanied by fever, nausea, and vomiting,” symptoms – according to WHO.
Individuals infected with the disease in the Gambella region are getting treatments. The regional state says up to fifty residents living in the new settlement where there is no access to safe drinking water are evacuated from the area and resettled in areas where there is clean drinking water.
Apart from humans, the disease reportedly affected domesticated animals. And that has complicated the campaign to eradicate the disease, according to officials.
The Health office in Gambella says it is partnering with Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Carter Center and other international organizations to do away with the GWD.
Police claims that reports covered by various media outlets about the deaths of two persons in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia, following the incident in Janmeda is “false.”
On Tuesday this week, there have been reports circulating on social media that Addis Ababa police shot two young men in Yeka sub-city, Janmeda area of Addis Ababa.
Addis Ababa City administration transferred, unclear if it is temporary, the city’s famous vegetable and fruit market from atikilt tera to Janmeda under the guise of preventing the Coronavirus. Some say there was a shooting in the early morning of Tuesday, April 28, 2020.
On the other hand, Addis Ababa Police deny the killings of two young residents of the city. According to the narrative from the police, there was a stampede around 8:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Commander Solomon Gebremariam who is head of police division in the Ferensay legasion area claims that six people have sustained a light injury and one person sustained serious injury. The latter is still in the hospital, based on Police Hospital.
The statement from the police says that there was no death from the incident.
A picture showing leaders of Balderas For Genuine Democracy Party visiting the parents of the victims was also circulating.
BBC Amharic report on Wednesday said that it spoke to Ato Derbush Tesfaye who is the father of one of the victims in the Janmeda incident.
But Ato Derbush is talking about a story from April 4, 2020, and does not seem to relate to the Janmeda story.
“On Megabit 26 [April 4], I heard a gunshot in the vicinity of the Russian Embassy around a quarter to seven o’clock in the evening. And then I was told that two young men are down in the area where there was a gunshot and that one of them was my son Abel, and the other victim was Mikias Demis[not his son].” Both are 21 years of age.
As we left home and approached the area where there was a gunshot, continues Ato Derbush, we saw security forces nearby.
The two young men were taken to Menelik Hospital. “When we reached the hospital, I was told that Mikias passed away but my son was alive undergoing surgery, seemingly to remove the bullet from the body.”
Abel was discharged from the hospital after three days due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Ato Derbush told BBC Amharic. And Abel has been getting home-based medical support since then. Still in bed but conscious.
According to Derbush, it was a confrontation between Abel and someone else, whose name is unidentified, who brought a ten years old boy to a bar that escalated into a crisis that claimed one life and injured others.
But the story gets murky there. It is unclear how security forces were involved and who killed Mikias and wounded Abel.
Police claim that it is investigating the matter but they are not letting parents know about the circumstances under which Mikias was killed and Abel was wounded.
BBC Amharic News said on Wednesday that it contacted Jelayn Abdi, Federal Police Communication Head, but the latter declined to remark about the incident claiming that the state of emergency legislation in the country does not allow him to do that.
In early February 2020, security forces killed two followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the locality of 24, near St. Gabriel hospital in the capital Addis Ababa. The Addis Ababa City administration claimed at the time that it would investigate the incident and make public outcomes. As it turns out, the case seems to be even forgotten now.
Repressions of the reform era in the capital
Post-TPLF Ethiopia is often portrayed as a reform era. Although Addis Ababa acting Mayor Takele Uma is getting credits for infrastructure works and social programs funded by the city (although they are in most cases made to appear like a charity work rather than dispensing responsibility that comes from power), there has been skepticism towards the Mayor’s motive.
He is one of the executives of the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) which is now defunct after the formation of the Prosperity Party. However, there is the understanding among Addis Ababans, even among many Ethiopians, that the old ethnic nationalist ODP is dominating the new Prosperity Party and cunningly making changes in a way to disempower the residents in pursuit of ethnic Oromo nationalist causes like, for example, claim of exclusive ethnic Oromo ownership over Addis Ababa.
Apart from outright killings, Takele Uma’s administration has been demolishing thousands of homes on alleged grounds of “illegal settlement” for several months now. Oromo regional state, under ODP, has been demolishing houses in the outskirts of Addis Ababa on similar alleged grounds.
In the past three weeks alone, as the media was dominated by Coronavirus disease Takele Uma’s leadership has been demolishing houses reducing thousands to homelessness – as confirmed by Amnesty International.
As COVID 19 offset scheduled election, Ethiopia is considering several options including constitutional amendment. Opposition consulted as TPLF demands the election to be conducted as scheduled
Photo : From Prosperity Party Facebook page
borkena April 29, 2020
The current Ethiopian government has only a few months before the next general election had it not been for COVID 19 which offset election schedule.
The terms of the parliament at the end of September 2020. The National Election Board of Ethiopia came up with a schedule in February of this year to conduct the national election at the end of August, as stipulated in the constitution. Now it is not happening.
Some critics tend to see COVID 19 as a political opportunity for the government of Prime Minister Abiy in that he can now have ground to postpone it.
He has four “legal” playing cards to do so. In what seems to be a matter of formality, his government initiated discussion with opposition parties and civic organizations in the country to deliberate on the best way to defer the election.
The four options are :
1) Dissolving the parliament
2) Declaring a state of Emergency
3) Amending the constitution
4) Initiating Constitutional interpretation
Based on analysis from legal experts, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed could dissolve the parliament with a permit from the parliament as per provision in Article 60/1 of the constitution. But the government will have to organize elections within six months from the date the parliament is dissolved. However, experts like Gedion Timotios, who work for the office of the attorney general, are inclined to denote it “not a better option,” on grounds that it could lead to a weak government.
The Second option, declaring a state of emergency, has also a constitutional base in Article 91/ 1. The option could also give a basis to impose sanctions on certain rights. Some seem to see this as a better option as it will give the government a more strong execution power.
A constitutional amendment is another possibility to avoid violating the constitution by not conducting an election within the timeframe provided in the constitution. This option requires two-third of the vote in the House of the People’s Representatives and House of the Federation. A joint session of the two houses with two-thirds of the vote.
Still, the other option is initiating constitutional interpretation in a way to fill the gaps in the constitution to be able to postpone the election. But experts see weakness in that the outcome of it could be unpredictable.
The question remains which option is easier for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Most of, if not all, opposition parties seem to agree that the election has to be postponed. The Election Board has already decided that it can not conduct the election as scheduled due to the coronavirus situation but some opposition parties, like Oromo Liberation Front and Oromo Federalist Congress, criticized the decision on grounds that they were not consulted about it.
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other hand remained intransigent about its position. This week, Tigray regional state demanded that the election should take place as scheduled and as required by the constitution despite the Coronavirus situation.
Weeks after passing the decision to postpone the next general election, the Chairwoman of the election board appeared at the Ethiopian parliament to explain why the election had to be postponed. It turns out, parliament endorsed it.
Ethiopian Parliament meeting on April 30, 2020. Photo credit : DW Amharic
By Bernabas Shiferaw borkena April 30, 2020
The Ethiopian parliament held a meeting today where the Chairman of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, presented the decision of the Board to postpone the upcoming election beyond August due to COVID-19 outbreak and answered questions from members of the parliament.
The parliament ratified the Board’s decision with one objection and 18 abstentions and passed the matter unto the ‘legal, justice, and administrative matters committee’ to examine the decision and come up with a proposed solution.
The Board had already announced that it will not be able to hold the election in August due to the restrictions posed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leaving the final decision to the parliament to which the Board is accountable.
The parliament’s acceptance of the Board’s proposition is not surprising as many believe it is not feasible to hold an election this year even without the threat of COVID-19 due because of the political turmoil and the security issues that exist in many parts of the country.
But the decision not to hold an election by August poses another dilemma for the government. As per the constitution, the legal lifetime of the current government ends at the beginning of October. So it needs some legal framework to stay in power beyond October. However, the constitution states that elections have to be held every five years (Article 58) and does not give the government an explicit authority to extend a term beyond five years.
Four alternatives have been identified by the government to overcome this dilemma. One is to use Article 60 of the constitution which gives the prime minister a right to dissolve the parliament with the consent of the parliament, in which case an election will have to be held within 6 months of the parliament’s dissolution. This move is not so hard to implement as the party in power controls the majority of the parliament. But if it does so, it will be forced to hold an election within six months. And many agree that this is a great risk to take as the threat of COVID-19, the political turmoil and the security problems in the country are not expected to go away in such a short period of time.
The second alternative is to extend the state of emergency that has been declared weeks before. The government can, with two thirds majority in the parliament, renew the state of emergency “every four months successively.” But since a state of emergency gives the government the authority to suspend democratic rights of citizens, many fear that if the government follows this path, conflicts will become inevitable.
The third alternative is constitutional amendment, which requires two thirds majority in both houses and a majority in two thirds of the Councils of regional states. As the Prosperity party controls both the upper and lower houses and all the houses in the regional states except Tigray, this move is not impossible. However, like the previous alternative, it might lead to an even greater political turmoil and result in conflicts. This is mainly because, first, opposition parties that are calling for the establishment of a transitional government will object to it, and second, the Prime Minister has previously spoken against constitutional amendments while many political parties were asking for it claiming that this is a task that must be left to a newly elected government. With such a precedent, many will consider an amendment to extend the government’s term a transition to complete authoritarian rule.
The last alternative is asking the House of Federation (the upper house) for an interpretation on the matter. According to some sources, the party central committee has already decided in favor of this alternative. But many critics have called this move legally incorrect since the matter requires an amendment, not an interpretation. According to them, the issue is not of ambiguity or self-contradiction by the constitution. It is rather a problem of incompleteness and can be solved only through an amendment.
So far, opposition parties are reacting in three ways mainly. The Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), the party governing the regional state of TIgray, has announced that it is opposed to extending the election and is insisting that the election must be held in August, despite the challenges mentioned above. Parties like ‘National Movement of Amhara’ (NaMA) and the coalition Abronet (Togetherness), have called for a transitional government. NaMA has also proposed 15 amendments to the constitution. ‘Freedom for Equality Party’ has announced that according to a study they commissioned, amending the constitution to extend the time of the election is the best method.
Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed offered TPLF to come forward for a live or discreet discussion but the offer is not without a warning. If you repress in Tigray, you can not demand democracy in Addis Ababa – is his key message.
Prime Minister Abiy AHmed addressing questions from opposition parties during a meeting on Thursday. Photo : screenshot from EBC video
borkena April 30, 2020
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought about a political complication to Ethiopia. It is now clear that the election can not take place in August 2020 as scheduled before.
The Ethiopian Parliament has approved on Thursday Ethiopia’s Electoral Board’s decision to postpone the election The problem is that the government could lose legitimacy as the parliament’s terms should end at the end of September 2020.
Ethiopian government still has four legal playing cards to constitutionally arrange an election outside of the constitutional timeframe for election. But all the options do not seem to be an easy fix – perhaps the reason why the government has found it necessary to continue to engage the opposition.
On Thursday, April 30, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had a meeting with opposition parties in the country but the exchange with Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the leader of Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) had a different tone.
Addis Alem Balema (Ph.D.), former deputy president of Tigray regional state, represented TPLF during the meeting. Most of the TPLF leaders are now confined in Mekelle, Tigray after they lost dominance over the Federal government, and are not comfortable to show up in Addis Ababa as many of them fear that they might get arrested.
“We are attending this meeting in consideration of our respect for the institutions in the country, and because of the challenging situation [in the country],” Addis Alem Balema said. he implicit message is, “we do not respect you Abiy!.” One TPLF general said last week, “We used to laugh at Abiy Ahmed when he said that he wants to be the prime minister.”
Mr. Addis Alem Baleme went on to criticize Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government in connection with the election. “Government was working half-heartedly on the next election. Now the Coronavirus complicated it,” he said. Moreover, he criticized Abiy Ahmed’s administration that the rule of law in the country is, in his words, messy.
Concerning the step to be taken to address the situation, he said: “My party believes that the measures to be taken[about election] need to ensure the rights of nations and nationalities, and foster the federal system.” Consultation has to continue and the upcoming election has to be free, fair, and credible (In the last election TPLF claimed that it won all the parliamentary seats.)
Addis Alem Balema. Photo : screenshot from EBC
“If Prosperity Party dares to lead the election [process] on its own and take it, the result will be bad,” Addis Alem warned Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, with a smiling face. He also added that the process has to be democratic and inclusive, and done in consultation with the opposition.
Abiy Ahmed rebutted TPLF’s argument in connection with the election. “Our position was that the election should take place. We had neither interest or belief that the election should take place,” Abiy Ahmed said. And he pointed out that the COVID 19 changed the situation.
Then Abiy Ahmed reminded the TPLF rep as to what TPLF did to leaders of opposition parties – trying to portray that his government is much better than what its predecessor.
Yet, he offered TPLF an opportunity to discuss with the government if there is anything that they think the government is doing wrongly. We can discuss it live (in a way accessible to the media) or discreetly. But the offer came with a warning from the Prime Minister. “Practice democracy on your turf. You can not repress in Tigray and demand a free and open forum in the Federal government,” he warned after referring that opposition parties in the Tigray region are unable to operate freely to carry out their political works. PM Abiy Ahmed went further to claim that the country is facing possible war over its sovereignty and pointed out that some are working with enemy forces. He called them banda.
The meeting between the government and the opposition was a point of discussion among Ethiopians. Some say the country is facing a constitutional crisis. Others say Abiy Ahmed’s government is trying to maintain the legitimacy of his government until the next election but there is no guarantee if the next election is going to be free and fair.
The meeting on Tuesday brought to the fore the political struggle between TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Mesfin Aman is a political analyst with political science academic background at Addis Ababa University. He was also during the 2005 Ethiopian election as a member of CUD. He told Borkena that “Prime Minister Abiy is trying to engage the opposition to make them change their position in regards to a transitional government. He doesn’t want a transitional government”?
And “TPLF wants to use every opportunity to regain dominance. If that is not possible, to destabilize the country,” he said.
Addis Ababa City Administration admits “mistake” for not consulting with Ethiopian Church over Meskel Square project. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo church demands apology for ignoring the Church’s ownership right over Meskel Square.
Patriarch Abune Mathias and Haji Mufi. Photo /File. Credit Addis Ababa City.
borkena May 1, 2020
Last week, Addis Ababa City Administration launched what it called the “Meskel Square-Municipality” project – a major construction project. A little earlier than that, the City passed a decision to move the vegetable and fruits market to Janmeda under the guise of preventing Coronavirus transmission.
Both the construction project and relocation of the market center affected the property of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church which it uses for major religious holidays including Timkat and Meskel – which are registered as a world heritage with UNESCO.
The Ethiopian Church has been using these properties for Meskel and Timkat celebrations since the establishment of Addis Ababa as the capital of Ethiopia.
The City project over Meskel Square involved some demolition work but The Ethiopian Church was not consulted about it.
With the intent to get clarification, the Church wrote a letter (which is shared on Adebabay Media) to the Office of the Mayor. A copy of the letter was sent to the office of the Prime Minister, too.
“The Church is disappointed that the City administration is working on an unclear project without consulting with the Church,” reads translation of the letter which is written in Ethiopia’s official language.
The letter also noted that the two religious festivals of the Ethiopian Church, which has now over 50 million followers in the country, do have significance beyond religion and culture. The UNESCO registered intangible heritages generate revenue for the government as the events attract tens of thousands of tourists.
“In Consideration of the gravity of the matter, we would like the Mayor’s Office to pay special attention to the letter and respond appropriately and urgently.”
On Thursday in the evening, Takele Uma, the acting Mayor, sent delegates to the patriarchate in a response to the letter from the church, as reported by Wazema Radio.
Nebiyu Baye, an advisor to the Mayor, led the delegation composed of the city’s architecture advisor, construction office head, and Plan Commission head, according to the Wazema Report.
During the meeting between the delegates and Ethiopian Church which was represented by Abune Yared, the latter asked the delegates why the City administration ignored the church when embarking on its “beautifying Addis Ababa project?.” The church also demanded to know the fundamental purpose of the project.
City representatives reportedly admitted that the administration erred when launching the Meskel square project without having a discussion about it with the church.
The city representatives also claimed that the “purpose of the project is to make the place attractive so that it can be used for the next Meskel celebration. The decision on Janmeda was, said delegates, made in an emergency mode due to the COVID 19 situation.
Ethiopian Church demanded an official apology from the city administration for the mistake they made and also a written guarantee that the Ethiopian Church’s right will not be infringed upon in the future in connection with the use of the two places for religious purposes.
Ethiopian Public Health Institute called up on the pubic not to be lured by the numbers and continue to practice prevention measures including social distancing. No Coronavirus cases reported on May 2.
Ethiopia Coronaviurs updates from the Ministry of Health
borkena May 2, 2020
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that 2016 samples from suspected individuals were tested for Coronavirus disease over the past twenty-four hours and no positive case was found.
Most of the people tested are either people with a recent travel history or people who have been exposed or potentially exposed to COVID 19 infected persons.
The ministry also said that three more patients have fully recovered from the diseases and been discharged from COVID 19 patient’s treatment centers. The total number of recovery cases is now 69 while the total number of COVID 19 confirmed cases (which currently includes active cases, recoveries, and deaths) is 133.
Fifty-nine patients are currently in the designated treatment centers in the country. No patient is in the Intensive Care Unit at this point which suggests high chances of many more recovery cases in the weeks to come.
However, Ethiopian Public Health Institute is calling on the public not to be tricked by the numbers of Coronavirus cases in the country and continue to practice preventive measures including social distancing.
So far, Ethiopia has tested a total of 20,770 cases of Coronavirus cases in more than 12 testing centers in the country. The aim is to test 4000 cases per day and plants to open more laboratories. On Friday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it will provide Ethiopia with 411 million US dollars to support the fight against the Coronavirus case in the country.
The rate of infections is higher in some of the neighboring countries. For example, Somalia reported on Monday this week confirmed 480 infections from a total of 764 people tested for COVID 19, as reported by Aljazeera. On Saturday, 70 more cases have been confirmed.
Illegal entry from Somalia and Djibouti has been a challenge in the past few weeks although land borders to and from these countries were closed for over a month.
Ethiopia’s Somali regional state announced this week that the border control is improved and all those arriving from neighboring countries are quarantined for two weeks.
In what is said to be one of his stern statement since he took over office, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned Oromo Liberation Front leader that it can not combine peaceful and legal political activity with armed struggle
Oromo Liberation Front leader, Dawud Ibsa during the meeting with Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed last week. Photo : screenshot from EBC video
borkena May 2, 2020
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been criticized for being too soft on the radical Oromo nationalist groups like Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). But this week, he warned the leader that they must choose between a peaceful struggle or an armed struggle one.
He spoke about it this week when he met with opposition party leaders to discuss how to go about organizing the next general election after the scheduled one was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
While recognizing the COVID 19 had made the election difficult, OLF leader, Dawud Ibsa, did not hide how he felt about the cancelation: “With all its shortcomings, we were hoping that the election would bring something, But COVID [19] happened,” he said while framing his question to the Prime Minister.
Yet, he emphasized that the government needs to avoid using “loophole” to the situation. Moreover, he criticized Abiy Ahmed’s government for what he called “an ongoing violation of human rights during the COVID 19 state of emergency. Not only in Oromia but also outside of it,” he told PM Abiy Ahmed.
He framed his question in a way to claim that Abiy Ahmed’s government is deliberately violating human rights violations by exploiting the state of emergency.”
In his response, Abiy first tried to explain how “complicated” it is to enforce preventive measures against COVID 19. A little later, he demanded specificity: “if there are any specific issues that your members are experiencing, we can discuss it.”
He then strongly warned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a radical ethnic nationalist party, to end playing double games in politics. “You can not stand on the peaceful and legal struggle and armed activity.”
He went further to condemn what he called fifty years of intrigue and conspiracy politics in Ethiopia. Hinting that there is a risk of military aggression against Ethiopia which he unspecified, he condemned some political forces for working with enemies of Ethiopia. He boldly called them “banda” – a term coined to describe those who stood on the side of fascist Italy when Ethiopia was invaded in the 1930s.
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as an armed movement was based in Eritrea for decades and returned to Ethiopia in September 2018 after Abiy Ahmed’s government invited all opposition groups to return home and operate in a peaceful politics.
Soon after returning to the country, OLF leadership flouted the government’s demand to disarm and operate peacefully until about mid-2019. There are still armed activities in the college area of Western Ethiopia but OLF claims that it has nothing to do with the armed group in the region.
Eritrean President Isaisas Afeworki is visiting Ethiopia amid a state of emergency in the country due to Coronavirus situation. Regional and bilateral matters are taking points between the leaders of the two countries
Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki leaving for Ethiopia on Sunday May 3, 2020. Photo credit : Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs
borkena May 3, 2020
Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki is in Ethiopia for two days working visit despite the coronavirus situation in both countries.
His Foreign Affairs Minister, Osman Saleh, and presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab are in the delegation that Isaias led to Ethiopia this morning.
Eritrea’s Minister of Information, Yemane Gebremeskel, has confirmed the news in a twitter message:
“President Isaias Afwerki departed to Ethiopia this morning for a two-day Summit with PM Abiy Ahmed. The two leaders will discuss bilateral ties, fight against COVId-19/locust infestation & regional matters. Presidential entourage includes FM Osman Saleh & Pre. Adviser Yemane G/ab”
The flight between Asmara and Addis Ababa takes a little more than an hour which means that the Eritrean president is already in Ethiopia.
Neither the office of Prime Minister of Ethiopia nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia disclosed information about the Eritrean president’s visit at this writing.
According to information from the Eritrean Ministry of Information, leaders of the two countries will discuss bilateral matters, Coronavirus prevention, and regional issues.
When Ethiopian Airlines delivered Coronavirus prevention medical supplies donated by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma to all African countries, Eritrea declined to accept for unspecified reasons.
So far Eritrea has 39 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 26 of them have fully recovered from it.
This is the fifth time for President Isaias to visit Ethiopia since the two countries ended the state of soon after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over the Prime Minister’s position. His last visit was in late December 2019.
This time he is visiting Ethiopia as the country is in a state of emergency due to Coronavirus. It is also in a state of what opposition politicians that are critical to Abiy Ahmed’s government described as a “looming constitutional crisis,” due to cancelation of the general election which was scheduled to take place sometime in August 2020.
In a meeting, this week, with opposition political parties over the next steps to be taken regarding the canceled election, Prime minister Abiy hinted that Ethiopia is facing possible military aggression. But he unspecified the country that is planning to launch military aggression against Ethiopia.
As Ethiopian government is considering various options after the next general election is cancelled due to Coronavirus situation, one of the opposition parties proposed formation of care taker government of technocrats
Image: from the official Facebook page of Balderas (resized)
borkena By Bernabas Shiferaw May 4, 2020
Balderas for Genuine Democracy has called for, in its press release today, for the establishment of ‘a caretaker government of technocrats’ at the end of the current term of government in October.
Following the government’s decision not to hold an election before its current term ends and its announcement of four alternatives aimed at extending its term last week, many opposition parties are questioning the legality of the government’s proposal and proposing, instead, that a political bargain should commence to carry out a successful transition towards a democratic election.
But many have been criticizing such a solution claiming that the political divide among political parties does not allow for a calm political bargain and consequently could lead to further political turmoil and conflict instead of a transition to democracy. The Prime Minister had also severely spoken against such a proposition in his meeting with leaders of political parties concerning the issue.
Balderas has also criticized both propositions. It has deemed the government’s attempt at extending its term and the four alternatives proposed to make that possible to be “not just incapable of saving the country from the dangers it is facing, but also without any legal grounds.” It has also criticized the government for excluding major opposition parties “including Balderas” from the discussion held on the issue last week.
It has also called the second proposed solution by many opposition parties of establishing a transitional government through a political bargain “an alternative put forward by those who want to disintegrate the Country.”
In the press release, the party claimed that its proposed solution overcomes the objections raised against both the government’s attempt to extend its current term and a transitional government to be formed by political bargain. According to Mr. Eskinder Negga, the president of the party, the alternative of ‘technocracy’ was chosen because it could maintain the unity, peace and security of the country, it can be kept clear of affiliations with political parties and ideologies, and because there are other internationally known instances where it was used to achieve successful transitions, like Italy’s technocrat government before the one that is now in power.
Such a government would be made of intellectuals and experts at the proposition of political and civic organizations with the international community observing the process. The experts must have no past affiliation with any political organization. This government would take over the government from the party that is currently in power and run it for two years. Its mandate would be limited to maintaining the country’s sovereignty and its internal peace and security, building institutions that are necessary for free and fair election, executing the daily tasks of the government and making arrangements for a peace convention among political parties and citizens.
Government aims to complete gun registry within two years across Ethiopia.
Photo file. credit : EBC
borkena May 4, 2020
When the firearms control draft legislation got approval in parliament in January of this year, the government announced that the Federal Police Commission will organize a National Firearms Control Division to enforce new legislation across Ethiopia.
Now the government seems to be ready to launch the program.
The Federal Prosecutor General announced on Sunday that individuals or institutions owning any firearms should get it registered within two years.
New legislation makes the purchase or selling of firearms only with the recognition of the government, it was said – as reported by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).
In the views of prosecutor General Adanech Abebe, the new legislation will fill legal gaps in firearms regulation and circulation.
The new legal regulation practice will require any organization/individual in-country to prove that they are authorized to possess and/or carry a gun.
Relevant government authorities will have to enforce the legislation in the next two years, according to the report by FBC on Sunday.
However, all those whose guns are registered might not be allowed to carry them. And not everyone could have the right to own a gun too. Once issued, the license has to be renewed every year and the owner will pay for renewal. It is unclear if
Citizens and organizations that apply for gun ownership need to meet a certain qualification, the Federal prosecutor Adanech Abebe said.
So far no entity is authorized to sell firearms in the country. In recent months, there have been reports of repeated captures of illegal firearms in different parts of the country – not just individual assault rifles like AK 47 but also machine guns and launcher pads.
In early March of this year, the Ethiopian intelligence department announced that it had seized two containers of illegal firearms that originated from Turkey and entered the country via Djibouti.
As much as there are those Ethiopians who tend to support illegal firearms control legislation, there are also those who have a concern about government plans to control the firearm.
In the northwestern part of Ethiopia and other parts of the Amhara regions of Ethiopia, among other areas, there have been centuries of gun-carrying culture. For many, gun control legislation under the Abiy Ahmed administration is meant to disarm people in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.
Last month, the government deployed tens of thousands of members of the defense force in the Gondar region of Ethiopia to disarm Fano – a loosely organized youth armed youth movement that was instrumental in ending the TPLF government domination in the Federal government.
On the other hand, some express concern about weapons that do not fall under the categories of the firearm. Most of the 86 people who were killed in late October following an incident in the Oromo region of Ethiopia were killed by Machete. Arrow was used in most of the ethnic-based hate killings in the Benishangul Gumuz region of the country in the recent past.
Analysts say TPLF decision to hold election in Tigray region could trigger a deep political crisis for Ethiopia
TPLF chairman, Debretsion Gebremichael. Photo credit : Tigray region communication office
borkena May 4, 2020
Following three days of an executive committee meeting, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced on Monday that it will conduct elections on its own.
The decision came just a day before the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives met to deliberate on how to go about the next election after the General Election scheduled for August 29, 2020, was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) disclosed last month that it can not carry out the election as scheduled based on a study it conducted.
On Thursday last week, Chairwomen of the Board, Birtukan Mideksa, appeared before the parliament to share its findings regarding why it is impossible to conduct an election in August as scheduled. And the parliament agreed, through an administered vote, that the election can not take place in August.
The government discussed four possible options with opposition parties, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front which is acting much like a militant opposition party against Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, regarding how to go about organizing the election outside of the required constitutional timeframe due to the Coronavirus circumstances.
Dissolving parliament, declaring a state of emergency, amending the Constitution, and seeking a constitutional interpretation are the possible options to organize the election outside of the constitutional time frame.
Based on the meeting held last week, government and opposition parties are on the same page that all the options are legal and constitutional. Come Tuesday, the Ethiopian parliament will decide as to which of the four options are in the best interests of Ethiopia.
It was under the above circumstance that TPLF came up with its own decision to conduct the election. It is unclear whether legislation governing elections in Ethiopia and the election board would allow that to happen.
In a statement issued on Monday, TPLF made numerous, but familiar, allegations against the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his prosperity party.
In a five-point resolution written in Tigrigna, TPLF alleged that the Prosperity Party is moving along the line of “dismantling the constitutional order.”
The organization also called upon the House of Peoples Representatives and the House of Federation to stop Prosperity Party’s move to dismantle the Constitutional order.
“…COVID 19 has become a good opportunity to establish a one-man authoritarian rule,” alleges TPLF’s statement.
Elections schedules of several countries around the world have been affected by the COVID 19. Some, like Bolivia, Chile, and Switzerland, have canceled general elections. Several other countries have canceled provincial elections, municipal elections, and bi-elections. Many countries in Africa have experienced similar situations.
Ethiopia’s polarized political environment seems to be a different story. Yet, most opposition parties have agreed that fighting Coronavirus has to be a top priority.
TPLF has been acting like a de facto state within a state since Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in March 2018.
TPLF 45th anniversary celebration in Mekele in February 2020. Photo credit : Tigray region Communication
Reports from opposition parties in the region indicate that TPLF has been systematically mobilizing for the secession agenda after losing dominance in the Federal government. The organization mobilizes along “Tigray is under siege,” theme; in the north from the Eritrean government and in the south from “Neftegna,” as they put it.
The celebration of the 45 anniversary of TPLF in February projected what appeared to be a projection of militarization in the region.
Too many Ethiopians express concern that the position of the TPLF government could lead the country into political chaos.
