A series of administrative decisions

or a shrinking civic space?

Hi there,

The weeks are all melting into one long stretch (life?) for me these days, so I’m keeping this edition short. I’m attending sessions on the Transitional Justice Policy all week, so I will have a longer piece on that for you in the coming edition of Sifter.

This week has some heavy news updates; one is a result of the heavy rainy weather across the country and another reminder that there needs to be more preparation to avert disasters over the coming few months.

To new subscribers, welcome!

My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.

Now, to the news.

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Civic space: administrative decision or harbinger?

The Ethiopian government has shut down over 1,500 Civil Society Organisations (CSO) over the past few weeks saying that administrative requirements had not been met. These ‘systematic closures’, says the International Federation for Human Rights, ‘severely impact civil society’, and are ‘creating a climate of fear, isolation, and stigmatisation’.

The statement adds that the CSOs are not complying with these obligations because they are underfunded and that these moves are part of a wider crackdown against ‘civic space and human rights defenders’.

Here’s an excerpt from the report:

This radical measure is effectively silencing civil society organisations and actors, and appears to be a punitive response for their legitimate activities. This unprecedented crackdown is part of an ongoing general repression against civic space and human rights defenders.

This is not the first report on the closure of CSOs in Ethiopia.

The closure of 250 CSOs in Ethiopia was reported earlier this month by Ethiopia Insider, which said that the organizations were being shut down because they did not comply with audit and reporting procedures.

Government officials have justified their decisions by saying they have given plenty of warnings before taking these steps.

The full statement on the International Federation for Human Rights, here, and the story on Ethiopia Insider, in Amharic, here.

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Politics: pushed out by force

An opposition political group is the latest to call for urgent attention in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. The party, the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), says that the conflict — fighting between the federal governent and the region’s rebel fighters, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) — is active across all 22 zones in the region.

The party also says that government forces have forced it to shut down its branches and are torturing its members on grounds that they are affiliated with the rebel group, according to a story by Addis Standard.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

The central committee of the OFC expressed concern that the initial political reforms in the country “have been derailed, making it increasingly difficult to undertake peaceful struggle.”

Part of the announcement from the opposition political party included announcing a new vice-president as their previous one, Bekele Gerba, ‘a prominent veteran figure’, had to seek asylum in the United States.

The full story, on Addis Standard, here.

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Finance: more money unaccounted for

Two weeks ago, when Ethiopia’s ‘near trillion Birr federal budget’ was approved, I highlighted a story about what the federal auditor general had said to parliamentarians weeks before. Mainly, she had talked about the ‘legal breaches’ across multiple federal agencies; uncollected fees, and incomplete projects that had raised ‘serious concerns about the management and accountability of public funds.’

The Addis Abeba city administration has now faced similar concerns; its latest audit report tells a tale of, ‘financial mismanagement, inefficiencies, and potential corruption,’ according to the latest report by Addis Fortune.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

The Addis Abeba City Auditor General findings, tabled to the city’s councillors last week, uncovered severe flaws, including 41.34 million Br spent without supporting documents across 31 institutions.

The full story which says there were instances where ‘funds were redirected or inadequately documented’, procurement regulation violations, and ‘concerns of financial accountability, here.

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Environment: the destruction of a protected forest

A forest, located in Ethiopia’s Gambella region, and home to ‘39 threatened species’ is being destroyed by illegal traders according to the latest investigation by The Reporter.

The forest, known as the Majang Forest Biosphere Reserve — a UNESCO-recognized protected forest — is being exploited for timber, charcoal, commercial farming, and mining operations.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Three of the eight biosphere cores have been destroyed by heavy logging and other commercial activity, according to a local official who spoke to The Reporter on condition of anonymity.

“The illegal operators have come largely from central and northern Ethiopia,” said the official.

The story says that this happened due to an administrative vacuum created intentionally to exploit the forest and its resources; while the forest’s care was transitioned from the Environmental Protection Bureau to the Agricultural and Rural Development Bureau.

The full story on The Reporter, here.

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Weather: landslides in Southern Ethiopia

Landslides caused by heavy rains in the Southern Ethiopia region have killed more than 50 people says a report by Reuters.

The landslide happened in two rounds in the region’s Gofa district and resulted in the death of ‘women, children and local police’.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

In the (Monday) morning, locals, including police, gathered at the site to save those who were affected by the first landslide. That is when the second landslide happened around 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) today and those who gathered there died.

The full story on Reuters, here.

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That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!

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