Austine Sequeira (PhD)Not much is being said about the ‘Renaissance Movements’ in the world today, especially in Western Europe where the movement was born. However, the story of the Ethiopian Renaissance Movement currently seems to stretch either too long or is on the verge of sudden death. A number of authors have defined the renaissance movement as a bridge between the middle ages and modern history. However, in Ethiopia’s case, it seems to assume a reverse meaning.
Between 2010 and 2014, Africa’s economic growth was an over-studied phenomenon. A cursory glance at any financial publication during this period and one would have been inundated with overwhelming analysis and statistics on Africa’s progress and future potential. The topic was so ubiquitous that the global conference industry was thriving on just one subject – African development. However, by 2015 the euphoria seemed to have all but evaporated.
It’s raining money in Africa! For instance, as the India-Africa Forum Summit 2015 concluded in New Delhi last October, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a concessional credit of USD10 billion for Africa over the next five years. This credit is in addition to the ongoing Indian credit lines for African countries.
Time for Re-orientation
On September 16, 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the world interim economic outlook – and after reading the report, there are many things of which to be concerned.
The slow progress of recovery in advanced countries and the economic slowdown in emerging economies, notably Brazil and China, are two main factors cited for sub-par global growth during the rest of 2015 and 2016.
History is replete with wars fought for access to land. There was a time when a piece of land had limited usage – you grow food grains and fruits or you just live on it. As societies evolved, land use changed purely based on human needs.
