Ethiopia Update–Girma Yeshitla's murder & more –4th May 2023

th of May: 2023

The news of Girma Yeshitla's murder, the Prosperity Party's Amhara region head, dominated headlines this week. Girma was murdered on Thursday the 27th, in the North Shoa zone of the Amhara region by unknown assailants. Prime Minister Abiy confirmed the news in a statement saying that extremists unable to win peacefully have killed Girma.

The Amhara regional government said in its mourning statement that aside from Girma, the assailants had also attacked his driver, bodyguards and family members, killing four more individuals. In the statement, the government added that the attack was intolerable, it will take severe measures against the attackers and will bring them to justice. Christian Tadele, Opposition party National Amhara Movement head and member of the House of People's Representatives, renounced the attack, urged the community to do the same, and expressed his condolences.

The Political Parties Joint Council also renounced the attack saying that the country's political issues can't be fixed and differences of opinion can’t be reconciled by killing one another. The council urged the government to immediately search, detain, and prosecute perpetrators.

Last week we told you that negotiations between the federal government and the Oromo Liberation Army (or OLA) had kicked off in Zanzibar, Tanzania. On Thursday the 27th, the BBC said that Kenya and Norway were the main mediators, and the work done so far concerned agreeing on agendas. Even though it was predicted that negotiations would be over by the end of last week, since the situation in Oromia is complex, the talks have been extended.

This round of negotiations ended on Wednesday the 3rd. Both parties released statements saying that the talks were somewhat positive with agreements reached on certain matters. However, they refrained from talking about the details. The BBC, citing anonymous sources from Zanzibar, reported that the agenda the parties disagreed on was the establishment of a joint transitional government. The OLA proposed the plan for the establishment including the incumbent prosperity, the Oromo Federalist Congress and the Oromo Liberation Front, which the government's negotiators refused. It is predicted that there will be another round of negotiations as parties expressed their commitment to resolve their differences peacefully.

It's been about three years since schools closed in the Tigray region. They were first closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed closed because of the war. On Monday the 1st, schools welcomed their students back. The region's education bureau said that it will implement an 'accelerated learning program' to deal with the backlog by fitting in four semesters in a year so that students will pass through two grades in one year. The semester that just began will end two months later in July.

It seems like the feud between the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (or TPLF) has definitively died down as delegates from the Prosperity Party including the presidents of all the regions, the mayors of Addis and Dire Dawa and the party's vice president Adem Farah went to Tigray. The officials sat down with Tigray's interim government leaders and visited factories that sustained damage. One of the factories, Sheba Leather, which used to have more than a thousand employees, has been completely destroyed whilst the Semayata Marble factory has also been severely damaged.

It's been six months since the TPLF and the federal government reached an agreement to end the two-year-long war. On the occasion, the US State Department issued a statement commending progress in the implementation of the agreement. The US recalled the establishment of the interim administration, restart of essential services, and the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid as steps in the right direction. However, the department urged for the employment of more personnel to monitor civilians' safety and the TPLF's disarmament. The US also lauded the negotiation between the government and the OLA.

The US Agency for International Development (or USAID) has decided to cease donating food in Tigray indefinitely after allegations that the food donated was being stolen and sold in markets. The USAID said that making this decision was tough but it will remain in place until further notice. However, the USAID is not the only organization concerned with the selling of humanitarian aid. The World Food Programme also revealed that it is investigating the selling of its food supplies and will stop donating until this investigation is complete. The interim government's president Getachew Reda said that he had talked with diplomats, representatives of the organizations and residents regarding the issue. He added that an investigation, being led by top government officials, has begun.

One of Prime Minister Abiy's initiatives is a project in various parts of the country to develop tourist sites by securing funds through a fundraising dinner. One of the sites is Koisha in the Southern region. At the opening of the resort he gave a speech where he warned foreign intruders to stop intervening in Ethiopia's internal matters.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Schulz went to Ethiopia on Thursday the 4th of May on an official work trip. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that many businesspeople, government officials, and heads of organizations from Germany have accompanied the Chancellor and are in Addis.

The controversial university entrance exam's registration deadline has passed. The Ministry of Education revealed that this year's edition will be held somewhere in July. Professor Berhanu Nega, Minister of Education said that, similar to last year, the exam is going to be administered in two rounds in universities. The Minister also said that even though this year's exam is going to be held on paper, there are plans to make the exams online for next year.

Speaking of exams, the Ministry also had updates about the exit exam. Previously, the exit exam was only mandatory for law and medicine students. However, because the performance of new graduates was not good in the workforce in other fields, the Ministry had decided to mandate exit exams for all graduating university students. The Ministry said on Saturday the 29th that it has prepared thirty thousand computers to hold this exam online in July. More than two hundred and forty thousand students are predicted to sit for the exam. Those who fail will not get their undergrad degree. The Ministry also revealed that a model exam will be held this month.

Ethiopia's banking sector had remained closed to Ethiopians for the past few decades until PM Abiy came to power and introduced plans to open the sector to foreign banks. The National Bank recently announced that it will issue up to five licenses in the next five years.

In more business news, the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration revealed on Tuesday the 1st of May gas price increases in the capital. Both regular and gas oil prices have jumped by about ten birr a liter or 20 US cents.

Did you know that world-renowned R&B and pop musician Abel Tesfaye aka the Weeknd is Ethiopian? That's right, the award winning artist's parents hail from Ethiopia. To honor his heritage, the Weeknd is teaming up with coffee brand Blue Bottle, launching a product line called Samra Origins - which is named after his mother. Abel said that Ethiopian culture is an important part of his identity and that he's proud to work on the project.

Aaaand that's it for this week! Remember We have a Mastodon account! Check out our instance rorshok.social. If you don't know what Mastodon is or want to know more about it, check out the link in the show notes to our Substack.

Ciao!