Trip to Russia & more –27th July 2023

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 27th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

Shocking news from Tigray as the region’s Disaster Risk Management Commission said that more than a thousand people have died of starvation. The commission said that this tragedy happened because the US Agency for International Development and the World Food Programme have both stopped providing humanitarian aid for ninety days. Recall that they stopped sending donations to Tigray following allegations of aid diversions. An official of the Commission urged all stakeholders to help with donations. Investigations are ongoing.

Still in Tigray...

Tigrayans are still recovering from the ravages of the war. Last week, it was Tigray’s business community that voiced concerns. On the 16th of June, the National Bank of Ethiopia, the chief regulating entity of all Ethiopian banks, announced that loanees in Tigray will have to pay back loans to banks with full interest. This decision did not sit well with Tigray’s businesspeople.

The Chambers of Commerce of the region’s capital Mekelle and another city called Adigrat said that Tigray’s business community suffered economic, social, and humanitarian losses. They also said that some businesses have gone bankrupt as a result, adding that they expected the federal government to come up with a fair solution. The chambers said the National Bank’s decision is shocking and will adversely affect the business scene that is slowly recovering. Both chambers informed the media that they have requested the region’s interim government, the National Bank, and the Ministry of Finance to overturn the decision.

In other news…

A delegation led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to Russia on Wednesday the 26th. The PM went to Russia to participate in the second Africa-Russia summit held in Saint Petersburg. On the day of the delegation’s arrival, President Putin told the delegation that Ethiopia and Russia will sign about fifteen bilateral treaties. The fields in which the two states are set to work together are atomic power generation, cyber security, and information technology. PM Abiy said that the two countries will continue to work together, their historical alliance serving as a foundation.

As you probably know, Russia invaded Ukraine and they have been at war for the past year and a half. A week before his trip to Russia, Prime Minister Abiy had a chat with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two talked over the phone last week on Thursday the 20th on international and bilateral matters. PM Abiy also tweeted that he talked to President Zelenskyy about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and ‘the means and ways of bringing peace’ between the belligerents.

The situation in some of the regions of Ethiopia is turbulent. Some places are completely unsafe for travel. One of the regions with sporadic clashes is Gambella. The situation in the region is so dire that even though last week most of the universities in the country held graduation ceremonies, Gambella University didn’t. The university had planned a graduation ceremony to be held last week on Thursday the 20th. However, the university confirmed that it wouldn't celebrate graduation this year with university authorities saying that given the present instability, ‘it would be meaningless’ to hold the ceremony.

The state of affairs in Gambella led to many asking questions about how the national university entrance exam will be dealt with. The region’s education bureau said on Saturday the 22nd that parents of students who will take the university entrance exam can rest assured as the federal police will take full responsibility for the safety of the students and will reliably protect them from any danger. After the statement, the Ministry of Education and the regional government held talks and ultimately decided to add another venue for the entrance exam. Previously, only Gambella University was set to host examinees. Now, the Gambella Health Science College will be another venue to sit for the exam.

Speaking of the national university entrance exams, this year’s edition began on Wednesday the 26th with social science students having entered the campus of universities near them. Recall that the entrance exams used to be administered locally in public highschools but that led to rampant cheating. The government decided last year to change the format and venue of the exam. This is the second time students will take the exam in universities. The social science stream students are set to finish their exam this Friday the 28th and natural science stream students will follow shortly.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is the largest in Ethiopia and the only one state-owned. The bank announced this past week that its deposits have surpassed a trillion birr or about twenty billion US dollars. The bank’s president Abe Sano said that even though the bank had fallen short of its goal to collect more than two hundred billion birr in deposits for this fiscal year, the result is satisfactory given the growing and stiff competition in Ethiopia’s banking industry. In the past two years alone, the number of banks in the country has almost doubled and that number is only set to grow as the government opens up the banking sector to foreign firms with plans to grant five licenses in the next five years. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia also revealed plans for the upcoming twenty twenty-three twenty twenty-four fiscal year. The bank aims to collect a staggering two hundred and fourteen billion birr or almost four billion dollars.

Last week we told you that Injibara University awarded beloved singer and songwriter Ijigayehu Shibabaw (also known as Gigi) an honorary doctorate. After that piece of news, more universities announced their honorary doctorate awardees. The oldest and most prestigious university in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University, awarded Binyam Belete, founder of the humanitarian organization Macedonia. His humanitarian organization helps thousands of mentally ill people and the elderly who are living in dire circumstances.

Another first-generation university that gave out honorary doctorates this year was the Bahir Dar University. It awarded journalist Meaza Biru, who is the owner of the first-ever private radio station.

The Prime Minister's wife, first lady Zinash Tayachew, and long-distance running legend Kenenisa Bekele also got honorary doctorates - the former from the Adama Science and Tech University for her contribution to building more than twenty-five schools all over the country. Arsi University awarded an honorary doctorate to Kenenisa, mainly for his contribution to the athletics field.

And to wrap up this edition, a hotspot for foreigners in Addis and locals alike is the Fendika nightclub. It’s not a regular nightclub, it’s a cultural one. It’s located in the heart of the city and is known for showcasing performances from the famed ‘azmaris’. The ‘azmaris’ are poets/singers that add a touch of humor to their performance. They roam around the venue with their traditional, single-stringed music instrument Masinqo and craft metaphorical lyrics, occasionally poking fun at members of the audience. The land in the area where Fendika is located is much sought-after. Nearby there are many luxurious hotels and recently, the government revealed plans to demolish the nightclub and give the land to developers, which caused outrage. Following the backlash, the government altered the plan, provided that the owner of the club - renowned dancer and choreographer Melaku Belay, would build a more modern building himself.

If you’re in Addis, you’d be missing out a lot if you didn’t stop by Fendika for a drink or two. Don’t believe us? Check out Fendika’s website with the link in the show notes.

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

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Ciao!