ETHIOPIA: Immigration Agencies’ Licenses & more – 5th June 2025

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 5th of June twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

The House of Peoples’ Representatives has amended the proclamation regulating the deployment of Ethiopians for work in foreign countries. According to the bill, which the House approved on Thursday the 29th of May, agencies that help people migrate to work in foreign countries will receive varying licenses depending on the fields their clients will work in when they reach the destination country.

For example, an agency with a level one license can help someone in any field find a job and migrate, while having a level five license only allows the agency to help maids and housekeepers work abroad. Agencies also can’t receive clients from brokers, instead they’ll have to get clients through the Ministry of Labor.

Also on Thursday the 29th, the State Minister of Education revealed that about ninety private higher learning institutions across the country have shut down since a directive it issued in March twenty twenty-four. According to the directive, to retain their licenses, at least twenty-five percent of their students must pass the exit exam every year.

The State Minister said the ministry is working with the institutions to stop issues surrounding plagiarism and the heavy use of AI in theses that university students must submit to graduate.

Private universities are not happy with the Ministry’s measures to reform the education sector, which include strictly ensuring that students taking university entrance exams don’t cheat, because they have greatly decreased the number of students eligible to pursue higher education.

Thursday was indeed an eventful day as the embassies of Britain and Norway, and the Ministry of Planning and Development held a meeting to discuss how Ethiopia can cover the costs to organize the second African Climate Summit in September this year.

A government representative explained that the country will need over thirty million US dollars and that the government hopes to cover these expenses through sponsorships, grants, and rent from venues. Aside from addressing climate issues, the representatives said the event will be a great networking opportunity for attendees.

In unrelated news, there was a flood on Monday the 2nd in the Omo Zone in Southern Ethiopia, forcing over eight thousand to leave their homes, according to an office from the district.

The overflow of a river caused the flood, resulting in residents seeking shelter in a highland area nearby. Authorities are trying to prevent floods by building earth dams. An official said that due to the frequent flooding, the town is at risk of being completely under water.

From the southern parts of the country to the north, as Tigray Democratic Solidarity, Getachew Reda’s new regional political party, announced its plans to address the issues the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (or TPLF) was criticized for, such as being unable to maintain peace and stability in the region.

The party also pledged to bring about changes that the Tigray people want. Things appear to be going on track for the party, which recently received temporary recognition from the National Election Board. The party said it will soon hold its first congress.

Recall that Getachew Reda used to be an important figure in the region’s predominant party, the TPLF, until his falling out with party chair Debre-Tsion Gebre-Michael. Getachew is currently Prime Minister Abiy’s advisor in East African affairs.

Speaking of quarrels, Member of Parliament and seasoned diplomat, Dina Mufti, accused Isaias Afewerki, Eritrea’s president, of pitting members of various ethnic groups of Ethiopia against each other, planning to fuel violence in the country.

In a commentary from Monday, the 2nd, Dina criticized Isaias' Independence Day speech, which excessively focused on Ethiopia and issues gripping the country. Dina said Isaias' speech contained references to ‘Cushitic-Semitic antagonism’ to pit Ethiopians against each other. Cushitic and Semitic are among the languages spoken in Ethiopia.

In economic news, the International Monetary Fund (or IMF) has decided to approve another round of loans, this time over two hundred and fifty million US dollars, with the total amount of loans previously agreed by Ethiopia and the organization being almost three and a half billion US dollars.

This approval comes after an IMF delegate visited Ethiopia about two months ago, where they discussed the progress in the implementation of the government’s macroeconomic reform. With this round of credit approval, Ethiopia has received more than half of the three and a half billion dollars. One IMF representative said changes that Ethiopia carried out have been encouraging, with inflation not as bad as expected, and increased access to foreign currency.

Recall that part of the deal with the IMF required the government’s agreement to float the birr; this means the country let demand and supply determine the value of the currency instead of the government.

One of the results of the IMF’s negotiations to grant loans to the country was that the government decided to allow foreign investors to engage in the transport and logistics sector, with the Ethiopian Investment Commission making the announcement on Monday the 2nd, at the Ethio-Belgium business forum.

The Commission said it is preparing the legal framework to allow foreigners to enter the sector and that this is part of the government’s policy to open the doors to foreigners to invest in various sectors that used to be reserved for local investors.

Recall that the banking sector has also been opened to foreign investors.

In some news from the courts now, as Taye Dendea, the former State Minister of Peace, was taken into custody again on Monday the 2nd of June. Taye was originally arrested over a year ago, days after criticizing the Prime Minister and being fired. He was arrested on suspicion of spreading anti-peace propaganda.

In December last year, he was released after the Federal High Court freed him of the charges. However, on Monday, the Federal Supreme Court restored the charges after the prosecutors appealed the decision of the Federal High Court.

Speaking of people taken into custody, some medical professionals arrested following strikes will also have their day in court, but until then, they will remain in custody. The Federal First Instance Court decided on Wednesday the 4th that the police have eight days to wrap up investigations on detainees.

Prosecutors accuse the health professionals of inciting riot and unrest and working with anti-peace forces. The most notable of the detainees is a female doctor who discussed the strikes on the BBC’s Focus on Africa program.

The Ministry of Finance has issued a directive, which became effective on Tuesday the 3rd, that will ban the purchase and import of medicines and medical equipment if they are of the same type as those produced locally or if they cost more than three billion birr, which is twenty million US dollars, even if the they are not available in the country.

If they cost more than this, they can only be imported if they are especially beneficial to the public and provide economic advantages. However, the directive doesn’t specify how a purchase fulfills this requirement.

Notices to sellers to bid on the imports of medicines and medical equipment are required to be published in English and bidders will also have to make an offer in currencies acceptable for international auctions.

And to close this edition, Ethiopia is negotiating with its neighbor to the south, Kenya, to provide additional electric power. Kenya wants an extra fifty to a hundred megawatts. The two countries already have an agreement that requires Ethiopia to provide two hundred megawatts.

The deal was signed five years ago but Ethiopia began supplying power in twenty twenty-three. According to the agreement, Ethiopia has to increase the supply every three years.

Soon, the supply will grow from two hundred to four hundred megawatts. It’s not clear if the amount Kenya pays per megawatt is going to increase but a representative from the Ethiopian Electric Power said they'll negotiate prices when the hike nears.

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

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Ciao!