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Ethiopia Observer

Bread shortages reported in Addis Ababa

Private media are reporting a bread shortage in Addis Ababa, where residents of the city are complaining about their difficulty to find affordable, smaller size breads. Addis Guday a weekly Amharic magazine, says the lack of flour might have led to bread shortages in the city, quoting some bakery owners. The magazine also said there has been slight price increase in some food items that are made with wheat flour.
A quick survey conducted by the magazine staff in some bakeries of the city conformed that there has indeed been an acute bread shortage in the city, especially the often consumed smaller size breads. The breads that were mostly available were those bigger ones, which cost around ten birr.
The Ethiopian government has not acknowledged a bread and wheat shortage in the city. Addis Guday quoted Kelemework, vice-chair of the Ethiopian Agricultural Agency, as saying he is not aware of the city’s bread crisis.
Bread is a staple in the Ethiopian diet, eaten with almost every meal. People are largely dependent on private bakeries amid an acute bread shortage there. The government often says the country has enough wheat reserves for one year and a half.

Chinese investemnt in Africa ‘exaggerated’

An Ethiopian researcher says it is the West, and not China, that still has the bigger economic impact on Africa.
The professor of economics at Addis Ababa University, Alemayehu Geda told China Daily that while the current spotlight might be on the impact of the world’s second-largest economy on the continent, it is former colonial powers and the United States that are the largest investors. “The conclusion one would make from all the media coverage and even the views of ordinary people is that China is this huge foreign investor
“Yet 90 percent of the (cumulative) foreign direct investment into Africa is still from the West, the United Kingdom, France and the US. China’s contribution is actually quite small. China combined with India is less than 6 percent. This gets lost in all the reports,” he says.
Alemayehu, who is regarded as a leading authority on the Ethiopian economy and a renowned development economist says China has had its biggest impact on just a narrow select number of resource-exporting countries.
The full story could be found at China Daily Africa website.

Ethiopian scientist wins UNESCO award

Ethiopian scientist Doctor Segenet Kelemu has been named the 2014 African Laureate in the 16th annual L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. Currently serving as a director general of the Nairobi-based International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology, Dr. Segenet is the first Ethiopian to win the prestigious award. She joins five exceptional women scientists from around the world, one from each continent, who were recognized for their contribution to science at an awards ceremony, held at the Sorbonne in Paris last week (March 19) before an audience of personalities from the worlds of science, economics, academia and culture.

Affordable Addis Art Fair

For the first time in Addis Ababa, a massive art fair is offering contemporary Ethiopian art for sale to collectors and first-time buyers. Some 1 000m² of floor space at Boles Millennium hall is filled with a great visual feast with the inauguration of the four day Addis Art Fair, running from 15 to 18 March. The art showcase included its range of traditional works, like paintings, drawings and sculptures, as well as patchwork, installations, print and ceramics pieces from both established and promising newcomer artists.

Bail denied for activists arrested during on women run

An Ethiopian court Friday began considering whether to prolong the detention of ten activists and members of the semayawi, or Blue Party jailed on charges of unauthorized protest after they chanted slogans during the Great Ethiopia Run last Sunday. The federal first instance Yeka district court on Friday morning opened a hearing into the activists, seven of them women, who launched a protest on the 11th edition of the annual women run, on Sunday 9 March to demand the release of jailed journalists and politicians. The court rejected a request for bail for the activists who have been held in custody for six days.

Muktar Kedir becomes head of OPDO

Muktar Kedir, a loyal politician and trusted ally of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, has been elected as head of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO). Following the departure of the former chairman Alemyehu Atomsa, OPDO appointed Muktar, a civil service minster, as chairman of the party.
Muktar has been an active member of the OPDO since the 2000s. He was governor of the Jimma zone from 1999 to 2003. He was also head of the office of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary democratic front (EPRDF) council from 2008 to 2010, and vice president of the Oromia region.
Under the late Meles Zenawi, Muktar enjoyed considerable influence especially after he was appointed to run the affaires of the prime minster’s office in 2010. He also joined the national security council at the time, a post that helped him to gain a great deal of knowledge and skill managing large operations.
Muktar is known as a politician of considerable will, and ego. He is an orator given to addressing mass meetings, and is one of few senior EPRDF figures who can communicate with the people. His biggest problem could come from OPDO where there are already two distinct factions, one supporting him, from Islamic areas and the other from largely Christian areas. Muktar was unpopular with the later faction for approving Wahabist groups to organize gatherings when he was vice minster of the Oromia region, a job with much influence in the party.
A native of Jimma, Muktar graduated from the civil service college with a degree in law. He also studied international leadership in Asuza Pacific University of California in August 2008.

Amadou and Mariam to perform in Addis

The Grammy Award-nominated musical duo from Mali, Amadou & Mariam will perform at an outdoor concert in Addis Ababa’s Alliance Alliance éthio-française on March 19, 2014 as part of the Francophonie week.
The blind husband-and-wife whose last album, ‘Folila’ (which means “music” in their country’s Bambara language) released on April 2012, are coming to Addis for the first time to perform in Ethiopia. On March 20, they would also be playing at Hilton Hotel hall.
Amadou and Mariam have been playing together since the 1970s, rising through the African and European music scenes to become one of the hottest world music acts today, sharing the stage with artists including Coldplay, U2, Alicia Keys and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. The piece Dimanche à Bamako was a global hit.

Ethiopia’s new wine brand to go on sale

The Ethiopia’s Rift Valley is known for its prolific bird life and the thick acacia woodland surrounding the string of seven lakes. The town of Ziway, 158 km south of Addis Ababa, which lies alongside eponymous lake, is surrounded by a rich agricultural area and pleasant scenery. Driving through the highway, we cross the Bulbula River, which is serving for the network of drip irrigation to grow plots of vegetables, and roses. Now the area is on its way to establish itself as the centre of Ethiopia’s audacious wine farm, though it remains at a small scale.

Oromia regional state president Alemayehu Atomsa steps down

The Oromia regional State president Alemayehu Atomsa, who has been unwell for the past three years, announced that he is resigning his position, effective February 18.
The 45-year-old Alemayehu, who has served as chair of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), a part of the ruling coalition, and the presidency of the region since September 6, 2010, had handed a resignation letter to the party, which accepted it ‘with regret and respect’. His first resignation letter to the then prime Minster Meles Zenawi three years ago has been rejected.
It is not clear who will succeed him, but the OPDO appears to favor the vice president, Abdulaziz Mohamed, as acting president.