ETHIOPIA: Human Rights in Amhara & more – 14th Nov 2024

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 14th of November twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

Last week, Amnesty International released a report, criticizing the government for continuing to disregard its duty to protect citizens’ human rights, specifically in the Amhara region in the north center of the country. The report focuses on the mass detention of civilians in makeshift detention centers, adding that government forces are making these arrests without warrants. The document also said that judges and prosecutors who have failed to enable the executive’s wishes have been detained across the region.

Recall that the Amhara region is in turmoil because the federal government and Fano, a youth movement, have been fighting for over a year now.

On a related note, more issues cropped up this week at the annual conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform where representatives from numerous countries expressed concerns over the conflict in the Amhara region. Representatives also called on Ethiopia to criminalize marital rape as well as ban capital punishment.

Aside from these issues, Montenegro’s representative urged Ethiopia to cease the conscription of children and to prevent gender-based violence. Among the countries that asked Ethiopia to ban capital punishment are France, Estonia, Ukraine, Poland and Portugal.

Ethiopia’s delegates said that their government will try to ensure accountability for human rights abuses and that it is trying to peacefully resolve conflicts in various parts of the country.

The Ombudsman Institution made some important announcements this week.

In the north, in the Tigray region, there’s internal political discord between the region’s interim administration and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (or TPLF), the region’s dominant party. The Ombudsman Institution announced that it would sue Getachew Reda, the region’s interim president, if he didn’t further explain his decision to fire members of the regional police force. Around two weeks ago we reported that Getachew dismissed them because they didn’t fight in the war between the TPLF and the federal government, which the Institution doesn’t think is enough reason to fire them.

The Institution also said that it is struggling to retain employees. A representative said it has been difficult to retain legal professionals, as they keep resigning because of low wages. He added that the Institution is going to ask parliament to increase its budget so that it can pay more to employees.

In other news, stakeholders in the transportation sector got together on Monday the 11th to discuss the implementation of a law limiting the weight of certain vehicles on specific roads. The Ministry of Transport and Logistics said vehicles carrying heavy cargo are damaging roads and overrunning fuel consumption. The Ministry added that the government has had to spend over a billion birr, which is over nine million US dollars, to fix the roads that the heavy trucks damaged. The Ministry plans to amp up control in loading areas to ensure that heavy trucks are not loaded beyond the legal limit.

In foreign affairs, the Climate Change Conference began on Monday the 11th in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. President Taye Atske-Selassie went there representing Ethiopia and used the occasion to sit down with Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev to discuss bilateral relations. The conference will run until next Friday the 22nd.

Next up, Ethiopia is working on opening its doors to foreign banks, and it is currently mulling over a draft bill that will make this happen. Members of parliament are concerned about how the bill gives the final say on caretaking administration and licensing issues to the National Bank. Even courts aren't allowed to overturn the Bank's decision. According to the Constitution, any justiciable matter can be brought to court but the provision in the draft bill giving the Bank final say goes against the principle of the Constitution.

Representatives from the National Bank explained that the provision is in line with best practices from across the world and will allow the Bank to give timely solutions to failing banks.

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On that note about banks, on Monday the 11th, a German company called Giesecke+ Devrient revealed a product they might want to use in Addis. According to the company, its product can replace plastic PVC debit and credit cards, ensuring sustainability and positively contributing to the environment. These payment cards are made using raw materials such as ceramic, metal, and wood.

Representatives from various private banks went to see the offerings and have given strong hints that they will pivot to these cards soon. They further indicated that they will be offering the ceramic and metal-made cards to premium customers.

What else do banks have stakes in? The Ethiopian Securities Exchange, the country’s first-ever stock exchange. After several rounds of delays, the Exchange revealed that it will officially launch by the end of this month. The government established it a year ago. It has been holding fund-raising rounds throughout the year. Having secured more than enough from various businesses and completing preparations, the Exchange is expected to transform the country’s financial landscape. It is set to list several companies, which will be offering shares including the Kefi Mineral gold mining project.

This past week, the project heads said that there are plans to list shares in the exchange in order to raise the five hundred million US dollars needed to get operations up and running. However, Shareholders will have to be patient before they get their dividends because production is slated for over two years from now, in twenty twenty-seven.

It was a good year for another share company, Hibret Insurance, which announced in a shareholders meeting on Thursday the 7th that it brought in almost two billion birr in revenue, which is around sixteen million US dollars, in the previous fiscal year. What’s impressive is that this is four more times what the company grossed in the twenty twenty-two/twenty twenty-three fiscal year.

Another thing that the board highlighted was that this record number of revenue came in the face of significant challenges like unethical business practices and regulatory pressures.

The company said profits per share have increased to about fifty percent, a high yield considering that the insurance sector’s growth rate is at twenty-four percent.

More business news as the Ministry of Agriculture revealed on Monday the 11th that for the first time ever, Ethiopia has exported vegetable crops to the European market via a private company, Ethio-VegFru. The Ministry said the company delivered sugar snaps and mangetout peas to the Netherlands. The first delivery was about twelve tons of these vegetables and is set to arrive in a little over twenty days.

The Netherlands was already an important trading partner to Ethiopia serving as the biggest destination in Europe for Ethiopia’s horticultural products.

On an unrelated note, on Thursday the 14th, Ethio Telecom launched an app first of its kind that will commercialize parking spaces and facilitate parking. Frehiwot Tamiru, the CEO of the company, said that the parking system will be launched in the Sheger City right outside Addis and is part of the effort to digitize the economy. The app is included in the Telebirr superapp and will allow drivers to find parking spaces and pay using their phones.

To close off this episode, there’s a bitter-sweet development in showbiz because event organizers announced early this week that legendary singer Mahmoud Ahmed’s final concert will be held in Addis three months from now. The veteran vocalist will end his musical career on a high note, headlining at the Millenium Hall in the capital. He has been one of the biggest musicians in the industry for over fifty years. The organizers said that they expect about twenty-five thousand to attend Mahmoud’s final bow and that they have invited prominent musicians to open for him, although names were not dropped.

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

Thanks for sticking around for this episode of the Rorshok Ethiopia update! If you’ve got questions, thoughts, or just want to say hi, reach out at info@rorshok.com. Don’t forget to hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app!

Ciao!