News from Eritrea
Executive Committee of the Prosperity Party (PP) has started its regular meeting today.
The executive committee is expected to conduct in-depth discussion on national and party affairs, pass decision, and set directions.
By conducting a joint evaluation of documents prepared for the discussion, it will hold consultation on the path of prosperity that could be achieved by involving the people, it was learned.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, will convene the Third Meeting of the Expanded Mechanism on the Sudan Crisis at the African Union headquarters tomorrow.
According to a press release of AU, the aim of the meeting is to discuss the next steps regarding the situation in Sudan, including the implementation of the African Union Roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan (the AU Roadmap), in close collaboration with the Sudanese stakeholders.
The meeting is expected to bring together representatives from the Trilateral Mechanism (the AU, IGAD and UN), the League of Arab States (LAS), the European Union (EU), the permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the African members of the UNSC (A3), Sudan’s neighboring countries, the countries designated by IGAD to engage the belligerents, Chair of the African Union, the Quad, the Troika, Germany and Qatar.
In the coming days, the AU Commission Chairperson will dispatch emissaries to the states neighboring Sudan as part of his efforts to strengthen the search for a common approach to finding a sustainable solution to the multi-layered crisis in Sudan, it was learned.
The African Union has strongly condemned the ongoing brutal and unjustified conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which has resulted in indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, wanton destruction of infrastructure, an unprecedented dire humanitarian situation, and gross violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
The Union has also stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict and demanded the resumption of the political transition process culminating in the conduct of elections towards a democratic, civilian-led government.
Recall that the African Union has also firmly rejected all forms of external interference in Sudan.
The Expanded Mechanism on the Sudan Crisis was established at the Ministerial Special Session on Sudan, convened by the AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on 20th, April 2023, to coordinate and harmonize regional, continental and international efforts in support of a peaceful resolution of the conflict to end the suffering of the Sudanese people.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
The Ethiopian Federal Police Commissioner, General Demelash Gebremichael, held discussion with Somalia’s Police Chief Brigadier General Sulub Ahmed Firin and the Djibouti’s National Police Deputy Commander, Colonel Omar Hussein Hassan. At the occasion, the commanders discussed on the agreement the countries reached on preventing terrorism and other organized cross-border crimes through coordinated alliance.
In addition, they agreed to sign a joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the next meeting in Djibouti on strengthening the capacity of the police officers of the three countries, according to the Ethiopian Federal Police. Commissioner General Demelash Gebremichael is the current president of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
A young man from Okyong Mile 4 village Mamfe, South West region, whose name we got as Ndoh Divine Ekin AKA Adamawa was killed on Monday, May 29, 2023, by government forces.
Residents of Mile 2, Mamfe, had sent numerous complaints of attacks from the young man. The attacks forced them to flee from their homes.
According to some residents of the area, the man has been attacking them at night asking for support at gunpoint, while telling them he was a separatist fighter.
The Mayor of Mamfe, Robertson Tabenchong Ashu, who was at the scene early said ” We have been preaching every day for these persons to drop their arms. This is just one of them who keeps disturbing the peace of the population. Enough is enough. We will continue to bury them like this. I have already taken a decision I will not bury any of them again. The Family or village the person is coming from will be compelled to bury the corpse”.
The Mayor also stated that Ndoh Divine is an ex-convict who has served in prison for over 15 years and was the last surviving male child of his late father and mother.
He has been buried by the natives of Okyong Mile 4 who identified the corpse..
Source: Cameroon News Agency
With its enormous comparative advantages, Ethiopia is a perfect partner for development and investment in Africa, the American political-economic analyst Lawrence Freeman said.
Freeman, who is known for closely following Ethiopian affairs, told ENA that the two-year long war in the northern part of Ethiopia has come to an end and swept the way for development and investment to the east African nation.
More importantly, the relative peace that Ethiopia has been enjoying after the Pretoria accord has created a conducive environment to reinforce efforts on reconstruction, recovery and investment activities, the analyst noted.
Everybody is happy that the war is over, Freeman said, adding that there is now going to be a process of reconstruction that could be used as a means to expand the entire Ethiopian economy.
The European Union (EU) as well as its member countries and the United States have now been normalizing their bilateral ties with Ethiopia, a country considered a longstanding diplomatic partner of the West.
The American analyst further pointed out the need to enhance financial support and maximize investment beyond a geopolitical interest in Ethiopia.
The country has untapped potential for luring massive global investment in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, and energy, among many other areas.
Mentioning the agricultural potential of Ethiopia as an example, he noted that most of the arable land is not cultivated.
“Most of the land in Ethiopia, what we call arable land that could be cultivated, is not being used. Only a tiny fraction of Ethiopia’s arable land is actually under cultivation. There are certain crops that are being grown. That has to expand and that itself can help relieve some of the poverty and hunger questions.”
According to him, the country could attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from around the world since its agricultural potential is tremendously undeveloped.
He appreciated the recent success story of Ethiopia on wheat production and its export that started this year.
In this regard, Freeman believes that Ethiopia can play a crucial role for agricultural investment alone in Africa where the continent spends 45 billion USD for food import annually.
This analyst further noted that the country can also attract giant global energy companies and make contribution to the Horn of Africa and beyond.
Freeman also noted that Ethiopian Airline, the most advanced airline industry in the African continent, can serve as a manufacturing capability to build and repair engines by attracting investment
“We can begin to use some of that capability. We are talking about 10,000 of square feet of space you used in Ethiopian Airlines to maintain those planes. We can begin to use some of that capability and transform it into manufacturing capability of finished products and goods that Ethiopian would consume and would not have to buy from abroad.”
Finally, he stated that Ethiopia has built industrial parks that could be considered as comparative advantage to bring more investors.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
The government of Ethiopia and its development partners have made large investments in social protection sector, which requires more investment, according to Director of Research at Economic Policy Research Institute, Michael Samson.
Samson has 37 years of experience working in social protection, and specializes in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating social protection strategies, systems, and programmes, with a particular emphasis on food security and nutrition.
Talking to ENA, he stated that the government of Ethiopia and its development partners have made large investment in the social protection sector.
He stated that social protection means many things, but at the core of which, is investment in food security, and nutrition.”
“It’s become one of the most important initiatives for inclusive growth in the country. But it requires more investment. It’s necessary that everybody who requires social protection have this investment and for that to happen it’s important for the government to see how vital this is for the country’s future economic growth and development,” according to expert.
Partners like the WFP, UNICEF and the World Bank have made significant investments with the government of Ethiopia to ensure food security and nutrition.
Moreover, he elaborated that the implementation of a comprehensive green economy policy and strategy is vital to realize the social protection system.
On other hand, Samson illustrated that nutrition is not just about having enough food. It is about having access to: safe water, sanitation, education and health, along with food security; all of which are important to improve nutritional outcomes.
These nutritional outcomes then derive what economists call cognitive capital, the ability to work effectively in a knowledge economy, he indicated.
He stressed that green economy is a smart economy, and this needs investment in nutrition and food security to drive the cognitive capital and enable everybody in Ethiopia to achieve this prosperity.
“A green initiative and a climate change mitigation strategy involves a complex interaction of investments. You need to invest in a new energy policy, a new industrial policy, really an entirely new development policy which creates enormous opportunities for the country to achieve greater prosperity,” he elaborated.
Recall a high-level national social protection conference was held last week under the theme “Social Protection for Nation Building in Ethiopia” with the objective to expand and improve social protection programs in the country.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, African Union Commission, Deputy Commissioner, Monique Nsanzabaganwa and other high government officials, representatives of various partners and other pertinent stakeholders attended the conference.
The conference aimed at generating ideas and have a common understanding among stakeholders about the expansion and improvement of social protection programs and systems through collaboration among the government, non-governmental actors, private sectors and development partners.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
Thousands of students across Cameroon have begun writing the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination.
The national exam organized for students in the English subsystem of education, commenced Tuesday, May 30.
Before stepping into the examination hall at 7:30 am to begin, many of the candidates said they are ready.
CNA spoke to Louisa, an upper-sixth student who registered for five subjects (Geography, Economics, History, English Language, and Philosophy). “I’m not feeling too tense,” she said.
“I woke up at around 1:00 am, studied and I slept back, then woke up again at 5:00 am to revise a bit before finally going to the examination hall.”
Asked if as a Christian, she blessed her pens in church as many students do, Louisa said “No”. She said, “I bought them after I had already gone to church”.
The examination session started with Economics Paper 1, a day after the Baccalaureat exam for the French subsystem kicked off with Literature and Philosophy.
Source: Cameroon News Agency