More than 13,000 people have benefited from the amnesty law in the past six months, according to the Federal Attorney General.
The amnesty law, which was passed by the Ethiopian parliament on 20 July 2018, came to an end yesterday after six months.
More than 13, 200 individuals took advantage of the law during this period.
The law grants amnesty for individuals and groups either under investigation or convicted on treason, crime against the constitutional order and armed struggle.
However, criminals convicted of genocide, extrajudicial killings, forced abduction, and committing inhuman torture and beating will not benefit from the law.
After rapid economic growth averaging 10% every year between 2004 and 2014, Ethiopia has emerged as an engine of development in Africa.
And there are no signs that ambitions for further growth are fading. This is clear from the government’s blueprint to achieve middle-income status—or gross national income of at least $1006 per capita – by 2025. This would see a rapid increase in per capita income in Ethiopia, which is currently $783, according to the World Bank.
Ethiopia’s growth has been propelled by at least two factors: the prioritization of agriculture as a key contributor to development and the fast-paced adoption of new technologies to boost the sector.
Ethiopia has seen the fastest growth in irrigation of any African country.
A third of Ethiopia’s GDP is generated through agriculture, and more than 12 million households rely on small-scale farming for their livelihoods. One of the drivers of growth in the agricultural sector has been the expansion of irrigation. The country has seen the fastest growth in irrigation of any African country. The area under irrigation increased by almost 52% between 2002 and 2014.
This was achieved by investing in the sector, and by harnessing technology to expand irrigation to farmers who traditionally relied on rainfall to water their crops. This boosted productivity and income for farmers by helping them extend the growing season and become more consistent in their production.
Meanwhile, only 6% of arable land is currently irrigated across the whole of Africa. This means that there’s huge potential to expand irrigation and unlock economic growth.
These factors are highlighted by a new report from the Malabo Montpellier Panel. The panel convenes experts in agriculture, ecology, nutrition and food security to guide policy choices by African governments. The aim is to help the continent accelerate progress towards food security and improved nutrition.
The panel’s latest report analyses progress—and highlights best practice—in irrigation in six countries. These include Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Niger and South Africa. Other African countries can draw lessons from the report’s insights. The report identified a number of common factors in countries where significant progress has been made to expand irrigation, including key policy and institutional innovations.
In the case of Ethiopia, one of the main reasons for its success is that agriculture and irrigation have been featured on the Ethiopian policy agenda since 1991. In addition, specialized institutions have been set up with clear commitments to maximize the benefits of water control and irrigation systems. In addition, the government has invested in the sector and has plans to continue doing so. It aims to allocate $15 billion to irrigation development by 2020.
Finally, Ethiopia has harnessed the value of a full range of irrigation technologies. These have ranged small-scale interventions to large infrastructure.
A joint project between the Ethiopian Bureau of Agriculture, local extension officers, and an NGO called Farm Africa, for example, helped women and young people adopt small-scale irrigation. This was part of an initiative to increase their incomes and improve their nutrition.
Overall, the project reached nearly 6,400 women and landless people. The irrigation project also benefited 700 farming families.
The experience of Ethiopia and other countries leading on irrigation can help other African governments develop country-specific strategies to effectively take irrigation to scale. The benefits of doing so, such as enhancing on-farm productivity and income, and improving resilience and livelihoods, are transformational.
The expansion in irrigated farming, coupled with reliable agricultural inputs and stable markets for the expected growth in farm products, has the potential to catapult Ethiopia to the forefront of African countries that have embraced agriculture as the engine of economic growth.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was on official visit to Italy, met with his Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, in Rome on Monday.
In a joint press conference after the meeting, PM Guiseppe Conte expressed his government’s interest to cover the feasibility study cost for the railway project that links Addis Ababa with the port city of Massawa, Eritrea.
Commenting on Italy’s support, Prime Minister Abiy expressed his gratitude for the government of Italy. “The comprehensive discussion which I had with Giuseppe Conte, in particular, was important to take the bilateral relationship between Ethiopia and Italy to the next level,” he said.
In response to the offer made by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Premier Abiy Ahmed said: “We are excited and accept with great honor Italy’s Plan to extend support on Ethiopia’s plan to link Addis Ababa with Massawa via railway.”
Prime Minister Conte has also expressed his government’s plan to extend support to the soldiers returning from the Ethio-Eritrea border following the peace agreement between the two neighboring countries.
The Prime Minister also called for enhanced cooperation between Ethiopia and Italy in the areas of development, peace, and tourism.
In light with this Prime Minister Abiy conferred with Pope Francis at the Vatican Apostolic Palace upon which the Pope lauded the historic agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea to end border standoff.
The common interests of both Ethiopia and the Vatican City State, including the peace accord with Eritrea, was at the core of the discussion.
Premier Abiy also discussed with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of the Holy State of Vatican and visited the Abyssinians Church of St. Stephen of located in Vatican City, where he was received by Cardinal Berhane Yesus, who recognized the Premier’role in the peace bridge that has been built between Ethiopia and Eritrea on his initiation.
Concluding his two days visit in Italy, PM Abiy Ahmed has arrived in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, his first stop on a European tour that will see him attend the upcoming World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland.
Upon arrival, he was warmly received by members of the Ethiopian community in Rome, where he will be holding key bi-lateral discussions with development partners beginning today.
He will also meet with the Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, following the invitation he made to PM Abiy during his visit to Ethiopia in 2018, according to the office of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister will be attending World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland to begin on 22 January and end on 25 January 2019, where he will be one of the key speakers.
In Davos, he will also strike dialogues with world leaders, global business leaders, economists, politicians, international financiers, and renowned high-profile academics.
The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum is “Globalization 4.0: Shaping a New Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
PM Abiy’s last European tour saw him visit France and Germany in November 2018.
The United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Thursday hosted a day-long workshop aimed at enhancing Ethiopia’s policy coherence for the sustainable development goals through integrated climate, land, energy and water (CLEWS) assessments and institutional strengthening.
The three UN entities are implementing a capacity development project to support the East African country’s coherence in policy formulation in the four areas.
In opening remarks to the workshop, Ethiopia’s Water, Irrigation and Electricity Minister, Seleshi Bekele, said Ethiopia’s overall development goals were ambitious, adding the country was determined to make it.
“This requires that we do not do things in the business as usual way. We must optimise our resources, including human, financial and natural resources,” the Minister said.
“For this to happen we must work as a joint-up government where ministries and departments with overlapping mandates capitalise on that overlap to work together based on their respective comparative advantages and efficient use of resources to achieve the country’s development objective.”
He said achieving “our development objective depends very much on how we invest in and use our land, energy and water resources” which are also very sensitive to climate change.
“Therefore, although all of the SDGs are interlinked, the coupling between climate, land, energy, and water is a crucial one that provides a unique opportunity for substantive efficiency and optimal investment planning in support of the SDGs.”
The UN support to the Government of Ethiopia will focus on two interrelated areas; the application of integrated quantitative analysis to address interlinkages between climate, land, energy and water systems; and institutional arrangements and mechanisms to facilitate effective and structural coordination among stakeholders in these areas.
In his welcome remarks, the ECA’s Officer in Charge for the Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resources Management Division, Oliver Chinganya said the project would build capacities for integrated assessment methodologies to address interlinkages and tradeoffs among policies, goals and the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
“Indeed, all the SDGs are interlinked, but the nexus between land, energy, and water is particularly strong, especially against a background of a changing climate,” he said.
African countries are experiencing catastrophic climate change and variability impacts in inter-related ways across many sectors, yet African economies remain strongly dependent on these climate-sensitive sectors for their development.
“Therefore, building sustainable and resilient economies in support of Africa’s transformation does require climate-informed and integrated strategies and approaches with a focus on the climate, land, energy and water sectors nexus,” said Mr. Chinganya.
For his part, Thomas Alfstad, Adviser in UNDESA’s Economic Analysis and Policy Division shared the CLEWs framework with participants who are experts drawn from various Ethiopian ministries.
He said it will provide policy-relevant insights, information, and quantitative estimates and can help identify interlinkages among sectors; help determine likely quantitative aspects of such interlinkages; identify robust relationships, key risks, explore technology and policy alternatives to mitigate unwanted outcomes.
“It will also help explore technology and policy alternatives to realize co-benefits so we can maximise synergies,” said Mr. Alfstad.
CLEWs is a methodology for integrated assessment of resource systems that provide a means to analyze and assess the interlinkages that exist among energy, water and agricultural systems as well as their impacts on – and vulnerability to – climate change.
Ethiopia passed a law on Thursday giving almost 1 million refugees the right to work and live outside of camps, in a move praised for providing them with more dignity and reducing reliance on foreign aid.
The objective of the bill is to fill the legal gaps that were not incorporated in the previous proclamation of Ethiopia which hosts more than 906,000 refugees. Among other things, the law provides a structure that enables legal refugees to engage in inclusive development programs in the localities they reside, based on the country’s land lease and finance system, Fozia stated.
According to her, the bill will help to enhance the country’s visibility and acceptance internationally and provides the groundwork for further promoting the livelihood of refugees and host communities.
Fozia further noted that it would cement the current spirit of good neighborliness with the countries in the sub-region, strengthen people-people relation, and improve Ethiopia’s administration of refugees and service delivery.
Ethiopia is home to Africa’s second largest refugee population, who have fled conflict, drought, and persecution in neighbouring countries such as South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea.
With record numbers of people being forced to flee their homes, most of the world’s 25 million refugees are hosted by developing countries in camps where funding shortages often leave them short of basics like food and education.
The new law is in line with Ethiopia’s commitment toward the United Nations Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by world leaders in December to increase refugees’ self-reliance and ease the pressure on host nations.
The law allows refugees to move out of the camps, attend regular schools and to travel and work across the country. Refugees can formally register births, marriages and deaths, and will have access to financial services such as bank accounts.
The head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission Fitsum Arega said the new legislation was part of the country’s “Jobs Compact” – a $500 million program which aims to create 100,000 jobs – 30 percent of which will be allocated to refugees.
“This helps refugees & supports #Ethiopia’s industrialization,” said Arega on Twitter.
Aid workers said Ethiopia served as an example in a world where, in some regions, the rights and freedoms of refugees and migrants are being eroded.
“As some Western countries have adopted xenophobic policies while turning away refugees, we are pleased that Ethiopia has passed this revised refugee law,” said Stine Paus, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ethiopia.
It will allow more refugees to live in urban areas, secure limited work permits, give some access to farmland and increase education enrolment for refugee children, she said.
“The law will help refugees feel included and that they can contribute to society,” said Dana Hughes, spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency in East Africa.
“But we must remember that access to education and employment doesn’t just benefit refugees, it also contributes to the economy and benefits local communities. Such legislation isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do.”
Ethiopia’s tourist spots are seeing a surge in the pace of new visitors, according to tour operators and hoteliers. Visitor traffic at the country’s northern, southern and eastern major attractions show a massive up in number from the same time last year.
Monpays Tour, an Addis-Ababa based agency, confirmed that the business has been remarkable over the past five months since the Ethiopian New Year. “We have a busy and successful season,” general manager and owner of Monpays Tour, Yared Mulugeta, told Ethiopia Observer. Similarly, Tema Tour has also said “a very good year,” according to the owner Teddy Solomon. Other Francophone and Italiaphone companies, Desire Tours, Ava Tour, Ton Reve Ethiopia, Green Land Tours and Lake Tana have confirmed the increase in tourists. Arrivals and interest are significantly up in Simien Mountains National Park and Bale Mountain, according to the Debark-based Walia Guide Association and Dinsho-based Nyala Guides Association. Many tourists and companies are acknowledging the improvements of facilities and the provision of cook in the Dinsho Park, the Association said. Guides in Harar town confirmed the increase in tourists.
The increase in visitors has kept the hotel industry in Ethiopia chugging along. In Tigray region, Gherlata Lodge, Korkor Lodge, Agoro Lodge are experiencing high occupancy of around 80 percent. Hoteliers in different parts of Ethiopia also reported rising bookings for the touristic season, Kuriftu Resorts, Abay Minch Lodge in Bahir Dar and Buska Lodge in Turmi, a town in Omo Valley.
This growth was mainly driven by the continuous increase of arrivals from traditional European markets. France, Italy, German, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Israel are top sources of tourism, according to agencies. Nahome Admassu Bekele of Pleasure Ethiopia Tours and Travel said tourists from East European countries, such as Lithuania, also showed significant growth.
Though the massive flow of Japanese tourists seems to be subsiding, visitors from China are on the rise, agencies said. However, some of the Chinese tourists passing through contacts and friends through cheap tour packages in a way that adversely affect tourism revenue.
Conversely, in the Danakil Depression’s Erta Volcano site, the picture is less rosy. The volcano’s activity, known in the past for dramatic explosion and lava flow that transformed the area into one of the country’s hottest tourist destinations has subsided in the past few months, leaving hundreds of businesses without their premier attraction. Seifegebreil Shifferaw, manager of Sphere Tour and Travel, a company that works with the French Aventure Et Volcans, disclosed there had been a 50 percent decrease in bookings to the area.
The nearby Dallol Volcano that harbours impressive salt canyons remain intact and still attracts visitors. Two Mekele based companies, Ethio Travel and Tours and World Sun Ethiopia say they continue organizing two trips to Dallol, excluding Erta Ale.
At this stage, there is no official figure on the arrival of tourists, as the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism prepare such reports on June. Yet most of the companies say the tourism sector is recovering from two years when it was affected by security problem in the country and state of emergency.
Visitor number to Ethiopia is growing by 10% each year, drawn by the country’s spectacular scenery, ancient history, culture, religious sites, and indigenous communities, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Ethiopia has reduced the rate of maternal mortality by more than 70%, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia.
The health officials cited the 1990 World Health Organization (WHO) report where the mortality rate for mothers was 1,250 in every 100,000 but now stands at 353 in every 100,000. A drop of about 70%.
In a research published in the Lancet covering the period from 1990 to 2013, it was reported the most causes of maternal deaths are complication arising from unsafe abortions (15%), obstructed labor (6%), hypertensive disorders during pregnancy (10%), postpartum bleeding (15%) and postpartum infections (8%).
Despite the decline reported in Ethiopia, 50% of the deaths are still caused by hypertension during pregnancy, obstructed labor, hemorrhage, sepsis, and anemia. In neonatal mortality, the causes are genetic abnormalities, prematurity, asphyxia, and sepsis.
“In this perspective, the health ministry has been working with stakeholders towards an enhanced integrated effort and focusing on identified problems as well as increasing accessibility to quality health services across the country,” she said.
Since 2008, the country has witnessed substantial progress in the accessibility of Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) amenities per 500,000 people, which meets UN’s recommendations.
In 2008, Ethiopia had only 11% of these facilities countrywide. This number increased to 40% percent in 2016. However, despite the progress made, a considerable gap still exists to reach the recommended 100%, according to the health ministry.
While identifying the issues affecting maternal health, the government is determined to address the needs of women, especially pregnant women while making sure every pregnancy is successful. At the same time, every family planning is monitored by health practitioners.
Liya said her ministry was keen on increasing the number of extension workers, midwives, and other healthcare givers to help narrow the ratio between those delivering at the hospitals and those seeking alternative options.
The ministry of health has launched a month-long campaign that will run in all the country’s health facilities. The drive targets the provision of quality health care services to all Ethiopians across the country.
To make it successful, the ministry has distributed ambulances to different health centers. But the minister pointed out the public must change its attitude towards blood donation to help limit deaths caused by over bleeding during childbirth.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is on a six days tour to Africa, met with Prime minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde in Addis Ababa on 9 January. The president expressed Ethiopia’s interest in furthering relation with Ireland based on the principle of mutual benefit.
The Irish Primer said that Ireland supports political and economic reforms that Ethiopia is undertaking and is determined to their deepen trade and investment relations.
He also expressed his will to foster a stronger relationship with Africa. RTE, Irish news source, quoted him as saying:
“If we in Ireland and Europe do not get more involved in this region and invest in this region, we risk opening a space for other countries to enter, be it China or Saudi Arabia or Russia. We need to make sure we are here, and we are crowding in.”
Ireland is one of the west European countries active in development work in the country.
During his meeting with Abiy Ahmed, Prime minister Varadkar discussed Irish-Ethiopian links, which have been in place for 25 years.
Mr. Varadkar said that he had sought further support for Ireland’s bid for a place on the United Nations Security Council.
He also said that Mr. Ahmed had sought his view on Brexit, adding “Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was aware of it and regretted it was happening because Ethiopia and Africa want a strong Europe and a united Europe”.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s fundamental political and economic reforms could be a model to the East African region and beyond, said EU ambassador to Ethiopia.
In an interview, Ambassador Johan Borgstam said that the EU welcomes the commitment of the Ethiopian Government to multiparty democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and gender parity.
The appointment of SahleWork Zewde as the President and appointment of 50 percent women in the cabinet are also encouraging steps toward a higher degree of gender equality and inclusiveness, he said.
The EU encourages the Ethiopian Government to continue towards developing an inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders, including federal and regional authorities, political parties, CSOs, youth groups and media on sustainable solutions towards better governance, justice and accountability, election, job creation, and security challenges.
According to him, the EU stands ready to support Ethiopia in its continued work to ensure the respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information, the right to assembly, foster religious tolerance and safeguard gender mainstreaming.
The Union also backs activities towards promoting women and girls’ education and empowerment and moves to eliminate all forms of violence against them, including in efforts to make the upcoming election inclusive, credible and transparent.
The EU welcomed the announcement of reforms aiming at revitalizing the economy by improving the investment climate and strengthening the role of the private sector, the ambassador said.
It appreciates Ethiopia’s engagement in multilateral free trade mechanisms, reforming key state-owned enterprises and opening them to competition and foreign participation as well as putting the economy on a fiscally sustainable path, he added.
Noting that economic reforms should contribute to addressing the crucial need for job creation in a country where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, Borgstam said the EU would intensify its support in job creation, industrial and agro-industrial parks, export and trade promotion as well as private sector development.
The recently proposed Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs promotes a strengthened framework to support Ethiopia’s economic transformation, he said.
The EU and its Member States have been steadfast allies in supporting Ethiopia through various platforms, and they will step up coordination to back government’s endeavors.
Furthermore, EU and its Member States have been providing humanitarian assistance for millions of internally displaced people across the country thereby supplementing government’s efforts to deter the existing large-scale internal displacement from posing a risk to the reform process.
Ambassador Borgstam pointed out that EU supports the driving role Ethiopia has been playing in the regional Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) process as the second largest refugee-hosting country in Africa.
The Union commends Ethiopia for its constructive role in the Khartoum Process and the Valletta Summit on Migration and applauds the decision the government has made to grant visa-upon arrival to African citizens as a step towards further regional and continental integration.
