A busy week for geopolitics
and revisiting security in Amhara region
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You’re reading Sifter, a newsletter that brings you a weekly rundown of what’s been making news in Ethiopia. I’m Maya Misikir, a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba, and I run it.
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Now, to the news.
Dam: the negotiations continue
Remember when we thought that our dam issues were behind us? Okay, I don’t think anyone ever actually thought that but remember when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted that pleasantly surprising joint statement from Egypt and Ethiopia? Saying that both sides will speed up negotiations and come to an agreement in four months.
That was in July, and we’re now at month number four.
Since July, the two countries and Sudan have met three times; in Cairo first, then in Addis Abeba, and again last week, back in Cairo.
Here’s an excerpt from a story in Addis Standard on that:
Despite lack of conclusive agreement and missed deadline, however, Ambassador Seleshi said that “the negotiations have seen some progress and understanding and we have agreed to continue the next in December in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.”
On a related note, Cairo Water Week, another set of talks about…water started its 6th iteration on Sunday. During that session, a report from the Egyptian government’s agency says that ‘there has been no change in the Ethiopian stance during the recent three rounds of talks.’
Here’s an excerpt from the report:
“Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam warned against Ethiopia’s continued unilateral operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, saying it poses an “existential threat” to the more than 100 million people in Egypt.”
The next round is planned to be held in Addis Abeba, in December.
When did these negotiations start? Back in 2014, when the construction of the dam had just kicked off. Since then, in nearly a decade of talks, there hasn’t been much consensus. Then the talks stopped altogether for nearly three years.
So, the talks continuing, despite a lack of agreement, has to be a good sign. Right?
The full story on Addis Standard here and the full report from the State Information Service of Egypt here.
Infrastructure: a quick update on the port stuff
The issue of port access for Ethiopia has stirred some concerns over the past couple of weeks. I wrote an update on that in the last edition as well, which included a couple of news reports that said the stand of the Ethiopian government could be a source of conflict with neighboring countries.
Last week on the celebration of Army Day (which is a thing), Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that we should rest easy on these speculations because ‘Ethiopia has never invaded any country and it never will.’
Here’s an excerpt from what he said that day:
“As of recently, when Ethiopia has raised some questions, saying we need to discuss on some issues, concerns over invasion have been heard. For all Ethiopians and the Defense Forces, as I will explain on this honorable day, that Ethiopia doesn’t want to make anything happen through force or invasion.”
Three days later, a state-owned media house came out with another documentary-style video on the importance of a port for Ethiopia, entitled, ‘For mutual benefit’. A week before that, another short video by a state broadcaster talked about how a port for Ethiopia, ‘is not an option but a necessity’.
Things mentioned in the more recent video include Ethiopia’s historical context and claim to a port (prior to Eritrea’s independence), the strategic importance of access to the Red Sea (where 10 percent of all global trade takes place), and the possibility of securing a port through negotiations, among others.
The prime minister’s speech on Army Day here, and the 40-minute video from Fana Broadcasting Corporation here, both in Amharic.
Security: we don’t know her (IX)
Leave civilians alone, says the latest report from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on the security situation in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. This is the ninth update in this newsletter on what is happening in Amhara region; go back here for more context on the issue.
This report by the Commission says since July there have been fighting across all zones in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Control of areas in the region has shifted between federal troops and the armed fighters from the region (known as Fano). Fighting has also involved the use of heavy weapons and drone attacks as well.
The report says that there are credible reports of extra-judicial killings by government forces still ongoing in the region, especially those following house-to-house searches, and that over 200 cases of rape have been documented since July.
Some schools across the region are being used as camps.
Students from the region are also worried about when universities will open up. Here’s an excerpt from a story on Addis Standard on this:
Students enrolled at universities in the restive Amhara region have expressed concerns over the prolonged closure and lack of communication from their institutions regarding plans for the continuation of studies.
Alemu, a third-year economics student at Bahir Dar University residing in Hawassa, expressed feeling neglected by the prolonged silence from his institution. “It feels as if we’ve been forgotten,” said Alemu.
Internet in the region is shut off except for a select few institutions. In some areas of the region, even telecom services have been cut off entirely.
The report from the Commission in Amharic here and the full story on Addis Standard here.
Labour rights: a new deal for migrant domestic workers?
A lot of Ethiopian migrants go to Middle Eastern countries for better work opportunities. This promise of better work (and pay) hasn’t always turned out to be as promised for many. In fact, so many horrible things were happening in Lebanon, that the Ethiopian government passed a decision banning economic migration there.
Here’s an excerpt from a story on Middle East Eye in June:
But scores of Ethiopian workers have died in Lebanon over the past two decades as a result of suicides, accidental deaths and murders that are rarely investigated by Lebanese or Ethiopian authorities.
In 2017, at least two migrant domestic workers in Lebanon were estimated to die weekly. Others have gone missing for years.
This ban on economic migration to Lebanon was lifted last April through an agreement between the two countries. This new agreement was tabled to parliament two weeks ago for a review, according to a story by Ethiopia Insider.
What did parliamentarians say about it? That this new agreement doesn’t have a minimum wage set and it leaves a lot of the protection of labor rights to the Lebanese government. And how can the Lebanese government guarantee the protection of Ethiopian domestic workers when it follows the Kafala system?
What’s the Kafala system? Here’s an excerpt from the same story on Middle East Eye:
“Foreign workers have their status regulated by the discriminatory “kafala” or sponsorship system, which ties a worker’s legal status to their employer and denies them the right to flee the workplace, even in cases of extreme abuse. The kafala system, used across much of the Middle East to regulate foreign employment, has been described by human rights activists as modern-day slavery.”
Parliamentarians have now asked for a closer look at these gaps in the protection of workers’ rights before ratification of this agreement.
The full story in English on the Middle East Eye when the agreement was first made here and updates on the discussion in parliament two weeks ago in Amharic on Ethiopia Insider here.
You can go here to read another update from February when the Ethiopian government announced it was sending half a million women to work as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.
Mining: Lithium project partners part ways
We’re back in the murky sector of mining again. Last month, one of the stories I included in Sifter was an investigative story on lithium mining in Ethiopia. This story by a local English outlet, The Reporter, looked into the competition to get lithium exploration and mining rights in the country. Specifically, it talked about one site where commercially viable Lithium is found in Kenticha, Oromia Region.
At the time the story explained that Kenticha Mining Plc, the company which held the mining and exploration rights in the area, had been lagging behind in its work on the project. The Minister of Mines had given the company a warning for not delivering on their promises.
The ownership of Kenticha Mining Plc is split into two. A majority (51%) is owned by a private company and the remaining is owned by the regional government of Oromia. The former supposedly has the technical expertise and the latter owns the mining resources in the region. Last week, The Reporter came out with a follow-up story saying that this partnership has now been terminated.
Why was it terminated? And does this mean that a very sought-after mining and exploration license site is now up for grabs?
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
The termination letter reads: “however, you still failed to keep your promises and none of these responsibilities have been operationalized. This situation can also be taken as disregard and non-respecting of regional higher officials.”
The story goes on to explain that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the company has dissolved yet, nor that its license has been revoked. This depends on whether or not the two parties resolve their differences, it adds.
Their differences include a payment of 38.1 million U.S. dollars from the private company to the regional government; one of many unmet promises under the agreement.
The full story on The Reporter here, and a recap of the investigative piece from September here.
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