ETHIOPIA: Tigray Armed Forces Demobilize & more – 21st Nov 2024

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 21st of November twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

Let’s begin this episode with some good news. On Wednesday the 20th, media outlets reported that the disarming and demobilization process of the Tigray Armed Forces officially began that day. The National Rehabilitation Commission is overseeing it and has received a billion birr, which is eight million US dollars, from the federal government.

The Commission said it has completed preparations and is entering the implementation phase of the demobilization of the region’s armed forces. Eighty percent of the armed forces members will be part of this project, receiving training from the commission and laying down their arms. After this, they’ll be issued a national digital ID and receive funding to get on their feet.

The Commission said it is working with the UN Development Program and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to see this through.

In other news, former president Sahle-Work Zewde was honored in a ceremony held on Friday the 15th in the capital, Addis. Volunteer women and female-owned companies got together to prepare the event to thank the first female president for what she did during her tenure and her contributions to the country and people, especially women. Sahle-Work took office almost six years ago. Still, her leadership skills were praised well before she became president.

Even though she was eligible for another term, the government opted to appoint someone else, hinting that there may have been disputes with other members of the executive.

On Tuesday the 19th, The House of People’s Representatives passed yet another controversial bill in the Civil Servants Proclamation. Recall that government representatives presented the draft bill to the House six months ago in May. The bill has numerous provisions that raised eyebrows, including one that gives a government employer the right to transfer an employee to any other state institution, and if the worker isn’t on board with the transfer, the employee will be forced to leave.

One member of parliament pointed out how the bill doesn’t clearly mandate government institutions to recruit fairly and equally across the country. This piece of legislation has also increased over time from thirty-nine to forty-eight hours. Despite these disputed features, the bill passed with overwhelming support from members with only three members voting against it.

Next up, The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration presented its quarterly report late last week to the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Tourism and Trade Affairs. The session focused on the cement industry. The Standing Committee criticized the Ministry because of the industry's malpractices and inefficiencies.

The Minister of Trade explained that to solve long-standing issues in cement trade, the Ministry is introducing regulatory changes, including forcing cement factories to close if they aren’t operating at eighty percent capacity. Additionally, the Ministry will require factories to notify their wholesale and retail prices to protect buyers from price inflation that third-party agents cause.

The Minister also discussed fuel supply, which is suffering similar problems. He said new rules will be introduced and oversight will be increased to ensure the proper functioning of the markets.

The Ministry of Jobs also had to present its quarterly report to parliament. The Minister said her office oversaw the immigration of almost ninety-thousand workers in this quarter alone to two European and six Middle Eastern countries. She also said that her office is corresponding with Norway and Sweden to send trained Ethiopians to work there. She also warned citizens of fraudsters, as they take agency fees from people who want to immigrate, saying they're from the ministry and disappear.

One of the members of parliament asked the Minister about citizens in Lebanon, which is engaged in a conflict with Israel. She explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repatriated numerous Ethiopians so far.

On an unrelated note, Ethiopia wants to open its banking sector to foreign banks and it is overhauling its banking law to accommodate for this change. The National Bank prepared the draft bill, and it is currently open to consultations.

The draft bill faced criticism this week as many people with disabilities believe it doesn’t require banks to implement inclusive practices. They additionally pointed out the wording of the rules, which make it seem that banks should make their services accessible as an alternative and not as an obligation.

One representative said that, even though the draft only includes words such as convenient and accessible, inclusion should also be added. She explained further that it is a challenge for visually impaired individuals to withdraw funds because of the banks’ inconvenient withdrawal procedures. She called on lawmakers to have disabled people in mind when drafting and approving laws.

Speaking of the government’s economic reforms, we’ve got some updates on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, the country’s first-ever stock exchange, which we’ve talked about in previous episodes. Last weekend, top officials and stakeholders in the Exchange said that they expect over ninety businesses to be listed and hope that it will be operational in a month or so.

As we reported in other shows, state-owned enterprises and private companies currently jointly own the Ethiopian Securities Exchange after a successful fundraising round conducted over the previous year. In connection with the Exchange, early this week, the Capital Market Authority revealed a new rule prohibiting the sale of stocks of companies under formation until at least two years have passed.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was in the Gambella region, located in western Ethiopia, for the inauguration of a gold mine. The Scandinavian company Etno-Mining owns the mine and is working with Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the country’s sovereign fund to discover and extract gold in the region. The PM says that not only will this raise significant revenue through increased production, but it will also help combat illegal mining.

Here’s news that has gripped the trade center of Addis. The city government said that merchants in the area will have to issue receipts for every transaction. This didn’t sit well with the merchants who went on strike on Monday the 18th, saying that they couldn’t issue receipts because importers don’t give them receipts. Merchants will lose money if they start giving them. They also blamed the government for not creating a transparent system where all involved in the transaction issue receipts. Despite the dissent, law enforcement forced the merchants to open up shop the next day but the volume of trade decreased following the strife.

Last week, The Ethiopian Audit Services Corporation made an audit report public concerning the Wolkait Sugar Plant located between the Amhara and Tigray regions. The government owns it under the Sugar Industry Group. The factory had ceased operations because of the war in Tigray, in the north, which ended two years ago. According to the report, the plant needs over forty billion birr, which is three hundred and fifty million US dollars, to bring it into operation again. The document said the plant needs to secure this amount in bank loans, adding that it is at risk if it doesn’t. The factory might not get funds from anywhere else.

Because of the war, the plant sustained damages worth around eighteen billion birr, which is around a hundred and fifty million US dollars. The report also cited privatizing the corporation as a long-term solution despite failure in the past in privatization efforts.

In sports news, The Great Ethiopian Run, an annual event that legendary runner Haile Gebre-Selassie founded, was held on Sunday the 17th. The Great Ethiopian Run is a ten-kilometer run, which is about six miles, organized in Addis, and has been going on for over a decade now. Tens of thousands from all over the country took part in this year’s run. Binyam Mehari came in first place, retaining his title as the Great Ethiopian Run’s champion.

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

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