Climate change is the great existential challenge of our times. It is a challenge that spans all regions, with especially severe consequences for low-income countries.

Currently Ethiopia’s economy seems to be at a crossroads. Due to the unrest that began in the state of Oromia and spread throughout the country, and the existing ethnic conflict in some parts of Ethiopia, people seem to be losing hope in the new government bit by bit. Massive amounts of capital are fleeing out of the country. If this situation is not controlled in a timely manner, and urgent action is not taken, irreversible physical, social, economic crises might be on the horizon.

The aftermath of the on-going reform that Abiy Ahmed (PhD) embarked on will be an assortment of opportunities and downturns as far as the local construction industry is concerned. While the Prime Minister’s anti-corruption moves, including his intolerance towards sub-standard infrastructure development works is highly appreciated, it appears that the costs of underestimating the effect of the fiscal policy on construction projects might ultimately outweigh the anticipated benefits of his administration’s position.

Recently, the mayor of Addis Ababa appealed to real estate developers to cooperate with his administration in its effort to manage the housing problem of the city which is becoming critical social and economic problem. Actually housing is a national problem in almost all the cities and towns of Ethiopia . As a study published in 2010 indicated, in Addis Ababa alone there was a need for between 350, 000 to 450, 000 housing units over the next 10 years. Coupled with this, the additional demand that has been created over the years makes the housing problem a real burning issue.

MILAN – The global economy is undergoing very large structural shifts, driven by three megatrends. One is the digital transformation of the foundations on which economies are built and run. Another is the growing purchasing power and economic strength of emerging economies, and China in particular. Lastly, there are broad-based political-economy trends, which include rising nationalism, various forms of populism, political and social polarization, and a possible breakdown of the multilateral framework within which the global economy has functioned since World War II.

I find the tradition of ad hoc reasoning and top-down approach of promoting industrial development in Ethiopia to be like an airplane without wings: it moves like a car but doesn’t fly. Almost 35 years ago, the late Eshetu Chole (Professor) characterized the industrialization effort in Ethiopia at a time as “Running to stay in the same place”. Four decades down the line, industrialization in the country remains as slow as it was then.

In recent decades, the size and number of informal settlements have increased on the edge of many urban areas all over Ethiopia. Following this, a large number of informal houses have been demolished in several places across the country. The demolitions have caused considerable uproar and disappointments especially in the capital and the surrounding areas. What makes the case of the capital and its surroundings different is the scale of this phenomenon.

An effectively functioning city responsibly carries out its day-to-day activities. Well planned infrastructures provided to accommodate these daily activities, such as movement, and socialization. Addis Ababa is not able to efficiently satisfy the urban status-quo because of the lack of these infrastructures such as hygiene and proper waste management systems, among others.

If one asks what all people of the world want and pursue in their life, there is only one answer. It is success. Enstien once said, “Character is more important than success”. However, this seems to be a bit of a misconception. Yes, character is very important for an individual. A person may earn respect, they may feel happy and content, or be confident and self aware. But all these virtues must mean one thing. They must mean success. Otherwise, it would mean they earned nothing.