Ethiopia - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Precious artefacts looted in 1868 war with Britain returned to Ethiopia

THE British government's return of Ethiopian artefacts looted in the war of Magdala in 1868, announced in September has drawn attention once again to the looting of artefacts from Africa and elsewhere, in Europe's many colonial wars. Among the returned artefacts was a lock of hair belonging to Prince Alemayehu, son of the first modern ruler of Ethiopia, Emperor Tewodros II. “The secular items including jorn cups and a shield and the Prince's hair were handed over to the Ethiopian Ambassador and delivered to the Embassy in London. The Holy Tabot will be repatriated by the priests assigned by the…

Sep

2023

By KANISHKA SINGH

US contractor charged with giving classified information to Ethiopia

NEWS

A U.S. government contract employee for the Justice and State Departments was arrested on espionage charges unsealed, prosecutors said, accusing him of passing on classified information to Ethiopia. Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, was charged in a complaint from late August, which was unsealed on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. He faced three charges including "delivering national defence information to aid a foreign government, conspiracy to deliver national defence information to aid a foreign government, and the willful retention of national defence information," the Justice Department said. Prosecutors did not name Ethiopia but said Lemma spied for…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia wants to join the BRICS group of nations: an expert unpacks the pros and cons

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A few years ago, the BRICS grouping – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa – had lost salience because three of its members were in severe economic difficulty. Brazil, Russia and South Africa are primarily natural resource exporters and were badly affected by the global commodity price bust of 2014. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now given BRICS a new geopolitical salience as the members and their respective allies respond to events. PADRAIG CARMODY, Professor in Geography, Trinity College Dublin In the emerging world order, there is also now increased demand to join BRICS, in part as a countervailing…

Jul

2023

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Ethiopia’s second telco license likely to ignite global investor interest

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA'S July 1 unveiling of a tender for a second new telecommunications license opens Africa's second-largest market to more competition and comes after its market-liberalising test run with Safaricom hit pay dirt. "There are several positive developments occurring in the Ethiopian telecommunications sector since the beginning of the liberalisation process," the Ethiopian Communications Authority said in a request for qualifications (RFQ) notice. The tender follows regional mobile giant MTN's unsuccessful attempt in 2021 to secure a license despite placing a substantial US$600 million bid. The staggering size of the bid underscored the appeal of Ethiopia's mobile phone and internet market,…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia launches tender for new telecoms licence

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA has launched a tender for a second new telecommunications license, its communications authority said, opening up one of Africa's largest markets to further competition. Ethiopia's telecoms industry is considered a big prize in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's push to liberalise the economy after he took over in 2018, thanks to a large population of about 120 million. Kenya's Safaricom launched its mobile network in Ethiopia in October last year, becoming the first private operator alongside state-owned Ethio Telecom which had hitherto enjoyed a monopoly. "There are several positive developments occurring in the Ethiopian telecommunications sector since the beginning of the…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia asks to join BRICS bloc of emerging economies

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, has asked to join the BRICS bloc of emerging markets, the foreign ministry said. The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010. "We expect BRICS will give us a positive response to the request we have made," foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told journalists, according to the state-run news agency ENA. Ethiopia will continue to work with international institutions that can protect its…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

920 million people could face conflict over the world’s rivers by 2050: what our study found in Africa

ENVIRONMENT

THE Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project on the Nile River started operating in February 2022. It reinforced tensions between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. The three countries rely most heavily on the Nile’s water. Sudan and Egypt consider the US$4.6 billion dam a threat to vital water supplies. Ethiopia sees it as essential for its development. SOPHIE DE BRUIN, Researcher in Environmental Change, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam This is just one example of how conflicts can arise between states that share river basins. And there’s a real risk that such conflicts will become more common as global temperatures rise. Hundreds of rivers…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Eritrea rejoins regional East African bloc after 16-year absence

BUSINESS

ERITREA has rejoined a regional East African bloc it left 16 years ago, its information minister said, in the country's latest move to rebuild ties with its neighbours. The Asmara government quit the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD) in 2007 to protest Ethiopian troops' entry into Somalia to force out its Islamist rulers. "Eritrea resumed its activity in IGAD and took its seat at the 14th Ordinary Summit in Djibouti," Information Minister Yemane Meskel wrote on Twitter late on Monday after the summit. He did not say what had prompted the decision but said Eritrea wanted to…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia’s musicians fled the country after the 1974 revolution – how their culture lives on

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE overthrow of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 led to violent conflict that had a particularly heavy impact on musicians. Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora is the first study of the forced migration of musicians out of the Horn of Africa dating from the revolution. The book traces their struggles and what happened to their rich and diverse music traditions when they settled in the US. Ethnomusicologist Kay Kaufman Shelemay talks about her book. Author KAY KAUFMAN SHELEMAY, G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music and Professor of African and African…

May

2023

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Five African countries to join tier-topping economic growth list amid GDP rebound

NEWS

BENIN, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania are on course to post some of the strongest economic growth rates globally - a show of resilience in the face of troubling global headwinds. A robust combination of domestic policy reforms, increased investment and strategic sectors will mark those nations' outstanding economic outcomes, according to the African Economic Outlook 2023. The countries are bright spots in a continental economy still shaking off residual pandemic shocks. Amid a flurry of global and local challenges, African economies are exhibiting impressive overall resilience, however, with average growth predicted to stabilise at 4% in 2023-24, surpassing…