ETHIOPIA: Calls for Death Penalty & more – 22nd Aug 2024

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 22nd of August twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

We start this week's episode with tragic news that has sent shockwaves across the country. Last year, a seven-year-old girl was brutally raped and murdered in Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region. The perpetrator, who was the mother of the victim’s landlord, was ultimately detained and brought before court. He was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, which is a very lenient sentence given the horrendous crimes committed. The victim's mother took to media outlets to express her grief and dissatisfaction with the sentence. After she talked on a YouTube channel, public outrage ensued, and a social media campaign arose ,calling for the death penalty. Adding insult to injury, The Judges Association and various media outlets revealed that the perpetrator had lodged an appeal and that it was under review, with a decision expected next year. The Amhara Judges Association issued a statement following these calls for the death penalty stating that pressure on the judiciary is unwarranted and can affect the judges' independence as the outrage might influence their decision.

In news about the fallout within the Tigray People's Liberation Front (or TPLF), the rift between the two groups at odds has widened. Debre-Tsion Gebre-Michael, the party's head, is leading the schism on the one hand and second-in-charge Getachew Reda, who's also serving as the Tigray region's president, is on the other side. Debre-Tsion called for a General Assembly, where a new vice chairman was voted in, replacing Getachew on paper. Getachew and other members of the party who are on his side refused to attend and to recognize the assembly, and officially addressed administrative units on the zonal and district level, saying that his authorization is required to convene a meeting. Getachew wanted the previous status quo restored via the National Electoral board before the assembly.

Is there going to be an armed conflict between the two factions? Well, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, the head of the region's deputy president and peace and security bureau, held a briefing on Wednesday the 21st reassuring the region's residents that Tigray will not fall into the pit of violence once again. He urged leaders to keep an open mind and resolve the conflict peacefully.

Another political party whose members didn't see eye to eye was the Ethiopians for Social Justice Party or EZEMA. Many prominent founding members have left the party saying that it was being indirectly influenced because of the involvement of the leader Berhanu Nega in the federal government as Minister of Education. This week, media outlets revealed that former party members are coming together to form a new party, temporarily named the Morning Star. Aside from politicians, this new party includes university professors. It has already collected over two hundred signatures and has obtained a pre-license certificate from the National Electoral Board. To get the main license, and thus be recognized as a party, it will need about ten thousand signatures. The party also said it will implement a digital system to register members from all over the country.

Ethiopia is not only grappling with internal strifes but external feuds as well. Currently, the Ethiopian and Somali governments are at odds. Somalia has been accusing Ethiopia of transgressions ever since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year with Somaliland, an autonomous region Somalia claims is its own. Recently, in a discussion held in Turkey’s capital Ankara, Somalia accused Ethiopia of not granting respect and recognition to the freedom and sovereignty of Somalia, adding that there can be no negotiations under these circumstances. These comments disgruntled Ethiopia; and the Vice Chairman of the ruling Prosperity Party took to his socials on Tuesday the 20th saying that Ethiopia has helped and will continue to help its neighbor and values the partnership. He recalled that Ethiopia sent peacekeeping soldiers when there was a security meltdown in Somalia and has shown its loyalty, respect, and support. He added that these accusations saying that Ethiopia undermines Somalia’s sovereignty are unwarranted and unfounded.

Moving away from politics, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter on Monday the 19th to members of the diplomatic community in Ethiopia reminding them to import only electric vehicles from now on, as per the directives from the Ministry of Finance. According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most of the EU countries are on board with this policy and other members of the diplomatic community are also expected to comply with this requirement. Recall that a few months ago, the government prohibited the import of diesel vehicles. The executive is also levying less import duty on electric vehicles.

The Ministry of Finance was in the news again as it initiated public consultation on the draft regulation that will be used to determine details and implement the newly enacted value-added tax legislation. The Ministry held the consultation on Tuesday the 20th hoping to include members from the business community in shaping the details of the regulation. This consultation follows another one of its kind held a few weeks ago, only that time it was with representatives from tax offices. The draft regulation indicates that important commodities such as staple foods, fertilizers, and electric vehicles are exempted from value-added tax. The new VAT law has scratched off transactions previously exempted such as water and electricity. However, the government has shown no signs of stopping the levy of more taxes. There are plans to broaden the tax base by introducing additional taxable categories.

Next up, Melaku Kebede, The CEO of Hibret, one of Ethiopia’s leading private banks has resigned. Melaku worked at the bank for more than twenty years and served as its CEO for the last five. Even though the abrupt resignation raised eyebrows, news outlets said that Melaku himself opted to quit, citing personal reasons. The Bank's directors' board accepted his resignation letter and appointed his deputy as interim CEO.

Authorities have revealed that they have completed a study to help determine whether or not to remove the railway around the CMC neighborhood in Addis, a very important roadway that has a lot of residential units and a roadway toward downtown Addis. The Authorities said this isn’t a mere technical matter but a political one as well and will be presented to the City Council. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed weighed in recently on the issue, saying his government has been deliberating on the matter and that a highway down this road must be built. The light rail project of Addis began operation eight years ago but has proved to be unsuccessful, failing to recoup its costs and serve residents.

Speaking of large projects, AMEA Power, a company from the United Arab Emirates, has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian Electric Power (or EEP) and the Ministry of Finance to build a wind farm and sell the power produced to the EEP, which is the state-owned electric producer. The wind farm is set to be built in the Somali region and will cost over six hundred million US dollars. Media outlets asked the EEP how much it would pay to AMEA for the power generated from the farms, and the corporation replied by saying that the prevailing market rates upon completion would apply. The project will take about two and a half years and to begin operations.

Let’s end this episode with some sports news. If you’ve been following the Olympics, you’ll remember that Tamrat Tola of Ethiopia won the men’s marathon. Well, on Tuesday the 20th, the New York Marathon organizers announced that Tamrat will take to the streets once again to cement his status as an elite marathon runner at the top of his game. Tamrat also holds the New York City Marathon title as well as the record because of his win on the course last year. Catch the action on the 3rd of November as he defends his title.

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

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Ciao!