Ethiopia and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) have signed a reconciliation agreement in the Eritrean capital Asmara today.
The deal reached between Chief Administrator of the Oromia regional state, Lemma Megersa and OLF Chairperson, Dawd Ibsa, provides for termination of hostilities.
The agreement further states that the OLF will conduct its political activities in Ethiopia through peaceful means.
The two sides also agreed to establish a Joint Committee to implement the agreement.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian delegation led by Foreign Minister Dr Workneh Gebeyehu and Lemma Mergesa also met President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea yesterday.
During the meeting, they exchanged views on the implementation of the recently signed peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Ethiopian government is launching what is poised to become Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s flagship program of “trans-boundary volunteers.”
With this program, youth volunteers are to serve outside of their respective ethnic-based Federal states, seemingly which is why it is named “trans-boundary”, in the country.
1000 graduating students drawn from different parts of Ethiopia are taking part in the program which started on 8 August. And the volunteers are to get credit for their participation when they are looking for employment after graduation.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with the volunteers today before they are deployed to where they are assigned.
“When you serve the community as volunteers, you also need to learn and acquire knowledge as well,” the prime minister told the volunteers. He meant to emphasise that there is knowledge in the community outside of university and other institutions of higher learning.
Apart from providing new graduates with relevant work experience, the motive of the program is to foster what the government describes as “people to people relation” and national feeling.
Ethiopia has a history of mobilising youth for volunteer work in the community. Soon after the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974, Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam’s government embarked on a nationwide illiteracy eradication program by deploying hundreds of thousands of youth in the countryside in different parts of the country to provide basic education. The plan was successful so much so that illiteracy was significantly reduced in the country.
Ethiopian Airlines and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, announced that starting from August 1, 2018, it has rolled out stopover packages without any additional airfare that cater for all leisure needs to promoting tourism into Ethiopia.
Passengers travelling through Addis Ababa and continuing their journey to one of the destinations on Ethiopian network can now take advantage of stopover offerings from Ethiopian Holidays, the tour operator wing of Ethiopian Airlines, enabling them to discover and experience the many historical, cultural, religious and natural treasures of Ethiopia, Land of Origins. An online e-visa service for processing stopover visa is available for all international visitors to Ethiopia at evisa.gov.et.
The packages range from sightseeing in Addis Ababa, the diplomatic capital of Africa, to visits to the pre-Christian era obelisks of Axum, the stunning medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, the amazing 9th century mosques of Harar, the majestic castles of Gondar, the stunning source of the Blue Nile, the jaw-dropping Simien Mountains, the splendor of the lakeside resorts of Hawassa and Arba Minch, or the unique coffee farms of Kaffa, birthplace of coffee, and much… much more.
Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, said: “Ethiopian is working with all stakeholders in the tourism chain to make Ethiopia a tourism destination of choice. With its many riches, the world has yet to truly discover Ethiopia and tourism has the potential to become the main foreign currency generator for the country and a mass job creator for the youth. With the stopover packages, we aim to attract a significant portion of our transit customers in Addis as tourists and to enhance the flow of tourism into the country considerably.”
The stopover packages are easily accessible on the airline’s website, ethiopianairlines.com, and will pop-up as an option when passengers book flights transiting thru Addis Ababa, or can directly be accessed at Ethiopian Holidays website.
Africa is still the world’s poorest continent; many of its countries remain rooted at the bottom of global tables measuring access to health care, clean water and free education.
Across the world, life expectancy at birth has increased in recent decades, climbing from 66 in 1992 to 72 in 2016, when the World Bank last released global demographic data.
But Africa has outperformed the rest of the world, with overall life expectancy increasing from 50 to 60.
That Africans are living longer is due in large part to successes in beating back AIDS.
In the 1990s, anti-retroviral medication that brings HIV under control was scarce, too expensive for all but the richest.
Things could not be more different now. Thanks in large part to an emergency AIDS intervention largely led by George W Bush when he was US president, most Africans with HIV are receiving treatment.
Across southern and eastern Africa, the epicentre of the AIDS epidemic, 13 million of the 20 million people living with HIV are receiving treatment. South Africa has the largest anti-retroviral programme in the world.
“The increase (in life expectancy) in the eastern and southern African region — and probably across sub-Saharan Africa — can almost certainly be attributed in a large part to the expansion of HIV treatment,” says a Western aid worker based in South Africa.
As a result, a young person with HIV who starts an anti-retroviral course can now expect a near-normal life expectancy.
Although sometimes derided, the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000 have had a significant impact in boosting life expectancy in Africa.
International funding and aid efforts have seen death rates from malaria fall by 66 percent since 2000, saving millions of lives.
Crucially, there has also been a significant decline in child and infant mortality. Since 1992, the number of children who do do not live to see their fifth birthday in sub-Saharan Africa has halved to 53 per 1,000 births, according to UN figures.
Vaccination campaigns, wider availability of antibiotics, impregnated mosquito nets and better sanitation and nutrition have helped millions of children survive who might once have died.
Two other factors have also had a big impact on life expectancy: greater stability in parts of the region and increased prosperity.
The three countries that showed the biggest leap in life expectancy since 1992 — Rwanda, Angola and Sierra Leone — have all recovered from horrific civil wars. Rwandans had a life expectancy of just 28 in the mid-1990s, but can now expect to live 39 years longer.
Ethiopia, devastated by famine in the Eighties, has shown a dramatic increase as well, with life expectancy climbing to 66 from 49 in 1992. Ethiopia, like Rwanda, is among the African countries with a higher male life-expectancy than parts of California.
Just as significantly, Africa is no longer as poor as it once was. Although some targets set by the Millennium Development Goals were not reached by their 2015 deadline, a key one was: the number of people living in extreme poverty on the continent has halved since 2000.
At the same time, a commodity-driven boom in the first decade of the century saw African economies grow by six per cent, up from just two per cent in the Nineties. Economic theory suggests that when economies grow, life expectancy increases.
From 2010 to 2015, Ethiopia recorded the highest economic growth on the continent and, like Rwanda, won praise for its development policies. Rwanda, though still poor, has a national health scheme that covers 90 per cent of its population.
Despite these improvements, huge challenges remain.
Nowhere in the sub-Saharan region has yet managed to match the developed world in life expectancy. Only in two countries, Cape Verde and Mauritius — both relatively prosperous islands — can babies born today expect to live beyond 70.
By contrast, life expectancy in the European Union stands at 81 — the same as in the United Kingdom — a five-year increase from 1992.
On Wednesday 1 August, a delegation of the Embassy of Ethiopia paid a courtesy visit to the Eritrean Embassy in Brussels for the first time since 1998.
Both sides were thrilled to discuss the next steps to be taken in the reconciliation process between the two countries. Mr Taye Kenenissa, Area Manager Benelux at Ethiopian airlines, also took part in the meeting and offered a plane model of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the national carrier’s newest aircraft, to Chargé d’affaires Michael Tesfai Hagos as a symbol of the increased number of flights linking Eritrea to the world to come.
Patriotic Ginbot 7 announced on 31 July that it will return to Ethiopia in a month’s time.
In a press conference, its leaders said that the decision to return home followed a discussion held with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Washington DC on July 27, 2018.
“The discussion was fruitful,” the leaders said.
“Patriotic Ginbot 7 is convinced that the current situation in Ethiopia is favorable to engage in a peaceful struggle,” they said.
The leaders also vowed to provide the necessary support for the reforms underway in the country.
The Patriotic Ginbot7 announced last month that it had unilaterally suspended all activities using arms.
“As of today June 22, 2018, Patriotic Ginbot 7 has suspended all self-defence operations using firearms in all regions of Ethiopia,” it said in a press release.
Followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Church are elated as the fourth Patriarch returned home after 27 years in exile.
Abune Merkorios upon arrival at Bole International Airport
The Fourth Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Abune Merkorios, arrived today in Addis Ababa after 27 years in exile. He was on the same flight with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and some members of his cabinet who were touring three cities in the United States.
He lived in the United States throughout his exile live occasionally visiting congregations in other cities.
Upon arrival at Bole International Airport, Abune Merkorios was warmly greeted Abune Mathias, the sixth patriarch of Ethiopia, senior government officials and the Ethiopian church faithful.
As well, a spiritual welcome ceremony was organised in the morning at Kiddist Selassie Menbere Tsebaot (Holy Trinity Cathedral Church) in the capital.
On August 4, the Ethiopian church has organised another reconciliation conference at the Millennium Hall which will be attended by both patriarchs. Twenty-five thousand Ethiopians are expected to participate in the event.
The patriarch’s decisions to return home came after a negotiation process between what used to be the Holy Synod based in Ethiopia and the Holy Synod in the United States reached an agreement last week to end the schism within the church.
The Ethiopian church has declared the unity of the Holy Synod, and there will not be two synods. And Holy Synod lifted the excommunication that was in effect for well over two decades.
Remarking on the development, the Abune Mathias said, “He is very happy that the reconciliation effort was finally a success…and he is personally very happy that reunification of the church happened at this time.”
A partial view of the reception at Bole International Airport
As per the arrangement in the agreement, the fourth patriarch is to lead the spiritual service while the sixth patriarch is to carry out administrative functions.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is credited for taking a keen interest and following up closely the negotiation process which is believed to have speeded up the reunification of the church. He, in fact, witnessed while the reunification was declared from Water Gate Hotel in Washington DC.
In a statement, he gave shortly after arrival at Bole International Airport; the prime minister said his visit to the United States was a success. Lemma Megersa, his former boss, comrade within Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and president of Oromo regional state, also rated the US tour as a success and asserted that “it is not possible to exclude Ethiopians in the Diaspora from the task of building the country.”
Ethiopia has secured 3.5 billion USD from tourism in the last Ethiopian fiscal year, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Public and International Relations Director at the Ministry, Gezahegn Abate told ENA that the number of visitors and revenue has increased when compared with the previous consecutive years.
“Out of the plan to attract 1.25 million visitors, some 934,000 persons visited the country and generated 3.5 billion USD,” he pointed out.
The ministry has also managed to create over 177,000 jobs for citizens last Ethiopian fiscal year. It generated 297,000 in the previous fiscal year.
The Director said, “though the business improved during the first and second quarters of the last Ethiopian fiscal year, it declined in the third quarter due to instability in the country.”
According to Gezahegn, even if the country has tremendous natural and human-made tourist attractions, the industry is contributing meagre finance to the national economy.
Lack of sufficient infrastructure and low service delivery have been the significant challenges that hinder visitors to stay longer and spend money; he pointed out.
He added that the ministry is undertaking various measures to improve the sector’s performance by working with the private sector and government service providers to meet standard facilities.
Last week, PM Abiy started his tour in Washington DC where he held a series of high-level engagements with development partners before addressing the Ethiopian diaspora.
He oversaw the reconciliation of rival synods of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, addressed political parties in a forum; he met the Muslim community at an event before attending a mega rally where he addressed concerns by the diaspora community.
“The Ethiopian diaspora embodies our rich, diverse nationhood and are our global ambassadors. We come to you not because of our immediate needs. It’s because you’re integral to our identity, our renewal, our democracy, our growth, our healing and our human capital,” he told the gathering on July 28.
He arrived in Los Angeles, the second leg of his tour on Sunday. Abiy and his delegation met with Ethiopians as he reiterated his message of love and unity.
His chief of staff wrote on Twitter, “He urged them to tear down the wall of hatred and bring home the culture of innovation that LA is known for. He challenged the enthusiastic crowd to demand from themselves in service of the country they so love.”
The last leg of his visit will be in Minnesota – a state referred to as Little Oromia due to the sheer numbers of Ethiopians living there – where 10,000 Ethiopians warmly welcomed him.
In his address, the Premier once again reiterated the need to break the wall and build a bridge.
In such score, the Premier said, “We already hit and broke the wall in Washington DC and Los Angeles; and here in Minnesota, it’s time to clear the ruins.”
He said “we need to create a society in which love and solidarity rule over cynicism and polarisation. All of us need not to have uniformity of opinion but the collective responsibility to transform the lives of our people.”
The Premier further underlined the need to learn from “our history and the experience of other countries and once again build a great nation called-Ethiopia.”
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also announced the decision to open a general consulate office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Minnesota has become the second city with Ethiopia’s representation in the US with consulate general office next to Los Angeles.
