ETHIOPIA: A landslide tragedy & more – 25th July 2024

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 25th of July twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.




We start off this episode with some heartbreaking news. In the Gofa zone of the South Ethiopia region, over two hundred people have lost their lives because of a landslide on Tuesday the 23rd. The first landslide, which killed a few people, occurred on Monday the 22nd. Many were helping the victims of this first accident when, unfortunately, another landslide occurred and first responders from various institutions lost their lives. Officials from the Zonal government say survivors were taken to aid centers and are receiving help. On the night the accident occurred, Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister, expressed his condolences, adding that a federal task force had been deployed to the area.

A law enforcement operation is underway in the Tigray region, mainly in relation to the illegal trade of steel iron. The region’s interim administration vice president told media outlets that a task force has been put together and is detaining suspects, including government officials. Aside from contraband trade, some detainees are also suspected of human trafficking. The vice president refrained from saying how many suspects are in custody and from revealing their identity. However, there is talk in social media that this operation is politically motivated and unduly targets individuals. The vice president has denied these claims.

There is some news from the Sudan civil war, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday the 18th that the fight is nearing the border between Ethiopia and Sudan and that a national committee has been established to oversee matters in relation to this war. A spokesperson for the Ministry said that although the Committee is focused on issues related to migrants, it will also review matters of peace and security. The spokesperson added that the problems that the civil war brings aren’t limited to Sudan but that Ethiopia will also be affected. He also addressed allegations that the government isn’t working to take Ethiopians out of Sudan; he denied these allegations, adding that the government is working to take its citizens out of harm's way.

Now from a neighbor in the west to a neighbor in the north, the Eritrean Aviation Authority announced on Wednesday the 24th that beginning from late September this year, all Ethiopian Airlines flights to Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, will be barred. The Authority said this decision comes after the unwarranted business practices of the airline which range from pilferage, damage to cargo, long delays, unreasonable price increases, and more. The Authority added that it had repeatedly told the carrier to fix these issues, but they have persisted. The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, on the other hand, said it will comment on these developments in due time. It was also revealed that Ethiopian Airlines has been notified of the Eritrean Aviation Authority’s decision via a letter.

Speaking of the aviation sector, the Civil Aviation Authority revealed that it is preparing to establish a civil aviation fund using money it collects from rendering its services and from the payment it receives from travelers. The Civil Aviation Authority said it has been induced to establish this fund because it needs the money to expand and upgrade its services and because the budget that the federal government grants to the Authority is not enough to make these changes. The Authority added that this development is also in line with the best practices in the aviation sector of other countries. The Authority also reassured the public that the amount that travelers will be charged for the fund will be minimal.

The Ethiopian aviation sector is reportedly doing well as the biggest player in the industry, Ethiopian Airlines, has been very successful over the years. But another large business sector is allegedly struggling; the beverages industry. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers are complaining that the government is making life harder for them. The companies said this on Monday the 22nd during a forum organized by a beverage company. One of the companies, Heineken, said that business in Ethiopia has become more difficult ever since the government banned ads from alcohol companies and increased excise taxes by three-fold. According to these companies, the government isn’t invested in growing the sector and this has resulted in a decrease in the number of companies in the alcohol business from eight to five. Power outages and unavailability of certain raw materials were also mentioned as problems the sector is facing at the moment.

Simonpietro Salini of the Salini or WeBuild Group, the Italian construction company, passed away on Sunday the 21st in Rome, Italy. He chaired the company which he took over from his father. The business has worked on several projects in Ethiopia, including the Legedadi dam project, which supplies water to Addis to this day. Salini has also worked on the Gibe and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam projects. The company and its head Simonpietro Salini have been operating in Ethiopia for decades. And that is why Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister, paid tribute to Salini saying Ethiopia is indebted to him for the construction of huge projects. Currently, Salini’s son Pietro has taken the reins and is leading the company, which is involved in construction projects all over the world.

The Addis Ababa City Administration said that it has collected almost a hundred and fifty billion birr, or over two and a half billion US dollars, and used over half of this revenue on projects that it’s working on. The Administration also said that the city’s revenue has increased by about twenty-three percent over the past five years. The Administration added that it is working on fixing issues in relation to the collection of taxes. To do this, the city has hired more than seven hundred employees to work in the tax offices. The city plans on collecting about eighty billion birr, or about a billion and a half US dollars, more in the upcoming fiscal year.




The City Administration was in the news again as it announced new rules that will help maintain the city's cleanliness. According to these new rules, individuals who dispose of waste in parks and other select unauthorized areas will be forced to pay a fine of up to two thousand birr or about thirty-five US dollars. Organizations will also have to be careful with their waste management practices as they might face a fine of up to 100,000 birr or more than 1,700 US dollars. But the most surprising new rule is that individuals will be charged about 300,000 birr or more than 5,000 US dollars if they damage the palm trees that were recently planted in the middle of the roads. Even people who drive into them by accident will have to pay this fine.

One of the countries where corruption is most rampant is Ethiopia. Several government officials and appointees have been detained in the past on corruption charges. The latest to be added to this list are the president and vice president of Wachemo University, one of the forty-two universities in the country. The two heads were detained on corruption and embezzlement charges after an investigative documentary that was aired recently on a state-owned media outlet exposed the embezzlement of universities' property.

And for our final update, the Commercial Bank, the biggest bank in Ethiopia, announced that it will be contributing over fourteen billion birr or 250 million US dollars for the construction of the Red Cross' building that will be built in front of the bank's headquarters. The building is set for completion in the next four to five years. The bank's contribution is very significant as the Red Cross will only have to expend a billion birr or about twenty million US dollars more to finish this project. The bank's contribution has been made official via a memorandum of understanding the two signed recently.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Ciao!