Ethiopia Joins BRICS & more –31st Aug 2023

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 31st of August twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

We kick off this week’s edition with some good news as it was revealed on Thursday the 24th that Ethiopia has been admitted to the BRICS. The bloc comprises Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Brazil and its aim is to compete with Western countries, mainly economically.

Ethiopia applied to become a member of the group back in June and it has been accepted along with five other countries that have emerging economies - Iran, Saudi, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Argentina.

At the fifteenth BRICS assembly, Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, said that the six countries will be admitted in January twenty twenty-four. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who attended the assembly, reacted to the news saying that this was a historic event for the country.

Abiy used the occasion to meet with India’s PM Narendra Modi and talk about bilateral matters like trade and the military. Abiy expressed his appreciation to Modi for India’s support in helping Ethiopia join the BRICS. The Chinese government and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin also congratulated the new inductees.

In the Amhara region, things are still looking grim. Even though the conflict has moved away from major cities Bahir Dar and Gondar, throughout this past week, various cities have witnessed clashes. An undisclosed number of fighters as well as civilians have been killed.

The UN’s human rights office came out with a report saying that since the conflict between the Amhara youth militia Fano and the federal government began, almost two hundred have been murdered. The office also said that after the state of emergency was declared, more than a thousand have been detained, and most of the detained are ethnic Amharans. The office urged authorities to release those arbitrarily detained and allow humanitarian access to other detainees. The office also asked all parties involved to stop the conflict and solve differences peacefully.

Speaking of Amhara, the region’s council held an emergency meeting on Friday the 25th to talk about the conflict and related matters. During the meeting, it was revealed that the region’s president Dr. Yilekal Kefale had submitted a resignation letter to the Prosperity Party more than eight months ago but that he was forced to stay in his seat due to the complicated situations that kept coming up in the region. The Council officially relieved him of his post and appointed Arega Kebede as his replacement. Arega said he accepted the post because ‘there’s no other choice’ and added that he’ll do everything he can to return the region to peace and stability. Recall that the Amhara region has had five presidents in the past few years, an indicator of the political instability of the region.

Last week, we told you about how there were credible reports saying that Saudi Arabia had killed hundreds of Ethiopians at its border with Yemen. The New York Times recently revealed that the United States knew of Saudi’s abhorrent crimes but remained silent. The US, however, rejected these claims. The State Department said that it had talked to Saudi officials about the matter.

Let’s move on to some economic news.

The inflation in Ethiopia has gotten out of control and the people are suffering. Only a few months back, a small piece of bread used to go for five birr, which is about ten US cents, now that number has doubled to ten birr, twenty US cents. Injera, a sourbread and the most important part of most Ethiopian meals, is being sold for twenty-five birr (between forty and fifty US cents). This is weighing heavily on citizens, especially those in the capital. Addis residents took to social media to have their voices heard. They demanded that whoever was in charge bring prices under control.

Prime Minister Abiy and the executives of the Workers Association Confederation held talks on Wednesday the 30th. The PM said he talked to the executives about fostering a cordial working relationship. However, the details of the talk remain unknown. The confederation had repeatedly said that the only solution to workers’ problems was to talk with the PM. The confederation, on behalf of workers, has frequently requested that the government decrease taxes for workers, increase wages, and determine the minimum wage. All of these requests have not been addressed so far. A few months ago, the confederation had planned a demonstration for May Day, which the government disallowed.

On the political front, Bekele Gerba, famous politician and vice president of the Oromo Federalist Congress, revealed on Monday the 28th that he has quit politics for good and has resigned from his post as vice president. He also said that he is seeking asylum in the US. Bekele explained his decision, saying that in the current political climate of Ethiopia, one cannot seize political power through peaceful means and have a free, peaceful life. In twenty twenty, Bekele was arrested and sentenced to eighteen months on charges of inciting violence. Upon his release, he went to the US and stayed there for more than a year.

We mentioned in previous episodes that the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration reveals gas price changes every month. Over the past four months, the Ministry hadn’t announced any increases and prices remained the same. However, on Tuesday the 29th, the Ministry said that due to price changes in the international market, it has decided to hike prices. The Ministry said regular gas will go for almost seventy-five birr per liter (over a dollar and thirty-five cents). Before the surge, the gas cost less than seventy birr (about a dollar and twenty-five cents) per liter. Kerosene, jet fuel, and other gas types prices have also increased.

The Educational Material Manufacturing and Distribution Enterprise told the media about grievances over how regional education bureaus are choosing to have textbooks printed abroad. The Enterprise said it is willing and able to print about ten million books a year but regions and the Ministry of Education have chosen to have these books printed abroad despite it being costly and time-consuming, and haven’t stated the reason why they do this. The Ministry of Education has to distribute textbooks to schools all over the country, mainly doing its printing abroad. Consequently, this past academic year, the Enterprise managed to print only three million books for four regions. Regions deny printing books abroad, saying that they do so locally but by private companies.

The World Athletics Championship was held from Saturday the 19th to this past Sunday the 27th and although Ethiopia failed to finish the competition on a high note, athletes took home a few medals. On Saturday the 26th, the women’s marathon was held and Ethiopia dominated, coming in first and second. That same day, Ethiopian athletes were expected to take home medals in the women’s five thousand meters but to no avail. Kenya won the race and the best Ethiopia managed to pull off was fifth place. In the men’s marathon held the next day, Ethiopia came in third and took the bronze medal. The women’s three thousand meters and the men’s five thousand were races to forget as Ethiopia didn’t manage to win a single medal.

All in all, the tournament wasn’t bad for Ethiopia as the country came in sixth in the medal table with two gold, four silver, and three bronze medals.

And that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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