Almost 100 years before Columbus discovered America, a Chinese explorer named Zheng He (also known as Cheng Ho) led seven expeditions from China all the way to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. His ships are said to dwarf anything sailed by later European explorers and continue to amaze today. In all, it is estimated that he had between 48 to 317 ships with a crew of over 28,000 men. During each of Zheng’s voyages, he brought back diplomats from other countries or encouraged ambassadors to go to the capital Nanjing on their own, according to historical records.
In Ethiopia, prosecution for corruption has been rare, which is why establishing the Federal Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (FEACC), in 2001, was seen as a ‘game-changing’ move by the government. Although there have been notable arrests in the past such as Tamirat Layne, prime minister of the transitional government, Siye Abraha, former minister of defence and Abate Kisho, former president of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region, some argue that arrests were politically motivated and that corruption from big players on Ethiopia’s political and economic stage went un-checked by an enforcement body seen as weak and a public seen as apathetic.
Zewde Zeleke (PhD), general manger and owner of Biyo Agricultural Development, has received 6,749 hectares of land to develop a commercial farm in Benishangul Gumuz regional state, almost a decade ago. The farm was profitable and earned him an award for the export crops he grew. He created more than a thousand jobs for the local community and provided supports including building roads and helped train residents in new farming technologies. This is what the government had in mind when it encouraged local investment in commercial farming.
For many, the untimely death of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s long-serving and able prime minister, on August 20, 2012 was considered as a serious threat to the country’s unity. This was because; the premier had been too powerful as he had drawn overwhelming political and military control particularly after 2001. His sudden death after 21 years of firm control was anticipated to create vacuum and power struggle within the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the four parties that constitute it.
In May 2000, The Economist, the English weekly, came out with “Hopeless Africa” as its cover page story. The article depicts Africa as a messy place. It goes as far as painting corruption, brutality and despotism as part of the culture of African societies. A decade later, the magazine changed its pessimistic outlook and came out with a positive story: “Africa Rising: The Hopeful Continent,” and explained why the future is Africa.
Taken: How Vulnerable African Children are Being Left to Precarious Inter-country Adoption. Featured
One of the videos recently posted on the official website of Project Hopeful, an advocacy group for adopting children with HIV/ AIDS based in the USA, shows the testimony of a fourteen year old Ethiopian girl. The girl named Selah Twietmayer narrates her adoption story, how she was saved by the Twietmayers family from an orphanage in Ethiopia, where she lived as an HIV infected orphan.
Liyualem Wubante, 20, completed her high school studies at Limat Minch High School in Lideta district in 2011. When she discovered her results were not good enough to get a university education, she applied to Ethiopian Catering and Tourism Training Institute (CTTI) and enrolled after she survived a written and oral entrance exam. She is now a second year student of Food and Beverage Management.
Abenomics is a recently coined word to re- fer to the massive planned spending by the new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to relieve the country’s economy from more than two decades of stagnation. To start the economy going and achieve some level of growth, the plan envisages investing tens of billions of dollars on infrastructures, among other things. Even though it is still a challenge to do this in an era of austerity, the Japanese government can go with its plan, thanks to a variety of deficit financing mechanism and its sophisticated financial market.
Mengistu Worku, the late renowned Ethiopian Footballer, ones said, ‘‘we used to play for the passion of the sport not for the money that we get from it’’ and he reminisced about how the late Yidnekachew Tessema, refered by some as the father of Ethiopian football, used to give him ten or twenty five cents for transport after training. Such stories were common in the amateurish, early stage of the ‘beautiful game’ in Ethiopia. In those days, formal organization and structure were absent, but recently, following the trend in other sectors of the economy, some changes are occurring in the Ethiopian football, though it still has a long way to go before becoming fully professional.
Yonas Gebrekidan 38, whose name has been changed, is one of the printer cartridge importers in Addis Ababa. He has been doing this business for the past five years. As the business has been expanding, he has lately opened shops in regional towns. But recently, his business has been seriously challenged. “Business has come to a ground halt” he said. “The banks have not been allowing enough foreign currency to import the necessary materials we need.”
