Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 24th of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

In our episode from two weeks ago, we covered a story about violence and deadly shootings in the Gambella region, in the west of the country. Well, the unrest has escalated ever since, even though the region imposed a curfew and restricted transportation. Reportedly, the reason violence has erupted is due to ethnic tensions and divisions within the region’s law enforcement. Civilians and law enforcement personnel have been killed, including a police commander.

The region’s leaders said they’re working with the federal government to get the situation under control, adding that many suspects have been detained. However, The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission doesn’t sound convinced, as it issued a statement on Sunday the 21st urging the federal and regional governments to deploy more forces and prevent further escalation.

On a lighter note, The National Election Board is preparing to hold the seventh general election in June twenty twenty-six but it will have to deal with security issues, not just in Gambella but also in the rest of the country. The Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia, also has security issues and several opposition parties are asking the board to postpone elections there, at least until internally displaced people have returned to their homes.

One of the parties said that because the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front, the party that’s currently in charge of the region, came to power through a coup and its leaders are military commanders, it’s difficult to hold free and fair elections there. Recall that parties based in other parts of the country also don’t believe the election should be held as scheduled for various reasons, including because some opposition party figures are behind bars.

In its holiday double issue, renowned British magazine The Economist gave its take on Ethiopia’s plan to build what would be the largest airport in Africa and one of the biggest in the world in an article written in English. The Economist said the plan makes business sense on paper because Ethiopian Airlines has been very profitable and should expand its infrastructure to accommodate increased demand. However, the media outlet added that since other airlines are expanding and will compete to take business away from the carrier, the country should at least reconsider the size of the project.

It explained that some investors would prefer a smaller airport that would expand gradually and that the current plan to build a massive airport is a result of government intervention. Even though the government owns the airline, until recently, it wasn’t too involved in what the carrier’s executives decided to do. According to the article, this has changed in the past few years.

To read the full piece, check out the link in the show notes.

Speaking of Ethiopian Airlines, it announced that it had signed a loan deal on Tuesday the 23rd with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, another state-owned enterprise, and the largest bank in the country. The deal is worth twenty-seven billion birr, which is more than a hundred and fifty million US dollars.

The carrier said it will be using the money to finance the construction of five thousand homes for its employees. It also mentioned that it has built and delivered over a thousand residential units for its workers so far.

It was an eventful week in foreign relations for Ethiopia, especially regarding the US, as the country suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery, a program to increase immigration from underrepresented countries. Many Ethiopians interested in immigrating to the US were hoping the program would continue.

The US also called back its ambassadors from various countries, and local media outlets reported on Tuesday the 23rd that the ambassador to Ethiopia would also be recalled. However, the US embassy later clarified that the current ambassador is not among those recalled. That same day, the US and Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding under which the US would provide over a billion US dollars to fund health care services, with a special focus on children and maternal care and combating diseases such as HIV and Tuberculosis.

More on foreign affairs, as leaders of several different countries have visited Ethiopia over the last few weeks, including officials from India, Malaysia and Singapore, all of whom held talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This week, it was neighboring country Kenya’s president William Ruto who went to Addis Ababa, to discuss issues of common interest with PM Abiy.

Ruto went to Ethiopia on Tuesday the 23rd, where PM Abiy welcomed him. After their meeting, PM Abiy said through his social media handles that the talks focused on peace and security matters, specifically in the Horn of Africa and strengthening bilateral relations.

In other news, Last year, Ethiopia said it needed five more years to keep its promise to clear landmines. A committee that the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention established accepted Ethiopia’s request to extend the deadline to clear landmines.

As part of the extension, Ethiopia will be required to report on its progress every year in April. According to reports, millions of square meters all over Ethiopia are covered with anti-personnel mines.

The Ministry of Education said earlier this week that next month it is going to start registering and preparing memos on indigenous knowledge from various parts of the country and will instruct universities to make these memos available.

The ministry said the country has lagged behind others in embracing indigenous knowledge and using it to solve various problems. The ministry added that the process will take over six months and that it will not receive funding from foreign countries or organizations to carry out the plan.

The number of private security service providers in Ethiopia has increased in the past few years, especially in the capital. The city’s peace and security bureau held a training session for these companies on Friday the 19th, when police revealed that employees of these companies committed over a hundred and fifty crimes in the past two years in just one of the city’s eleven sub-cities. The crimes include car thefts, bank robberies and burglaries. The aim of the training is to both prevent and control crime.

Police said the reasons these companies’ workers commit crimes is because the companies employ them before collecting essential information, signing a formal contract and without training them.

In business news, the Customs Commission announced that it is planning to allow manufacturers that produce goods for export in industry parks to sell their products locally. Previously, the government only allowed manufacturers in industry parks to sell their products abroad. However, the government decided to change this because when exports decline, producers won't have alternative revenue sources, leading them to losses and ultimately to closing their business.

Selling locally would allow them to get through rough patches of lower demand in foreign markets. The state-owned Industry Parks Development Corporation also wants exporters to start selling locally and has asked the commission to enable exporters to provide their products to the local market via Zemen, Ethio Telecom’s ecommerce platform.

In more business news, Ethiopia is preparing to hold the fourth Invest Ethiopia Forum, which the Investment Commission, the Ministry of Finance and partner organizations are organizing. Addis Ababa will be the host city for the event, which is planned to be held in March next year.

Over seven hundred business leaders, policymakers and organizations are expected to participate in the forum. A government media outlet said the forum will be a stage where Ethiopia will showcase why it’s a favorable destination for foreign investors.

And finally, let’s talk about an event in Addis scheduled for New Year’s Eve. American hip-hop artist Trey Songz will perform at the Sheraton Addis Hotel. PMG, the organizer, is known for booking famous international artists for New Year’s Eve shows at the Sheraton, complete with an unlimited dining experience and an open bar.

Renowned local artists are also expected to perform. Tickets are going for twenty-five thousand birr, which is around a hundred and fifty US dollars.

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

We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s been listening, subscribing, and sharing their thoughts with us. Your support keeps us going, and we’re grateful for every one of you. Happy holidays!

Ciao!