The traditional mother’s day ‘Antroshet’ was celebrated among Gurage people in Cheha woreda, in the southern part of the country.
This year festival was organized by the women’s, children and youth affairs of the zone. The cultural mother’s day event was celebrated by the people with different cultural and traditional activities and foods, drinks, dances and mostly by remembering and expressing thanks to all mothers.
Fendika Art and Cultural Center organized the Addis International Art Symposium (AIAS) which focuses on painting symposium on contemporary art and will be held throughout February 26, 2020 in Addis Ababa. Fendika Art and Cultural Center has organized this art symposium in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau. 21 high-profile visual artists from Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Eritrea, Egypt, Nigeria, Namibia, Nepal, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia, Serbia and Canada will attend in the first Addis International Art Symposium. This art symposium which will have a span of ten days primarily aims at artistic and cultural discourses as well as exchanges among all the participating visual artists. 
Each participating visual artist of AIAS is expected to produce two of their imaginative creative artworks within the span of the symposium on any universal themes of interest. Addis International Symposium on Contemporary Art will have various distinct programs including artistic discussions, art workshops, master class by selected visual artists, impartations, cultural exchange as well as an art exhibition of creative works by all the participating visual artists at the end of the symposium. All the participating visual artists of the first AIAS will have a group art exhibition at the Shenzhen Hall of Skylight Hotel on February 25 at 6:00 p.m. in the presence of invited high-level government officials, art elites, diplomatic community members as well as various print, electronic, broadcast and social media outlets.
By Isidoros Karderinis
The climate change, that is, the change of the global climate and in particular the changes in meteorological conditions that extend on a large time scale, is a major global existential threat.
The greenhouse effect causes the increase of temperature of the planet primarily due to the tremendous increase in carbon dioxide, which has increased by 35% since the beginning of the industrial revolution. And of course the lion’s share in pollution of the atmosphere with 50% of all carbon dioxide have Europe and North America. All other countries together are responsible for the other half, while the poorest countries are the least responsible. However, the people who live in these countries it is they who will suffer more strongly of the consequences.
The causes of climate change are mainly identified in combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gasoline, natural gas, etc.) which account for 50% of total emissions, in the production and use of synthetic chemicals, in disaster of forest areas which contributes to the production of additional gases in the atmosphere and of course to the greenhouse effect by 15% and in conventional agriculture and livestock farming, which account for 15% of emissions.
The expert scientists knock the danger bell and warn that if there is no urgent global coordinated action by political leaders, governments, industries and citizens around the world, the temperature of the planet is likely to rise above 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels by 2060 and the increase could even reach 5°C by the end of the twenty-first century, fact that will make the lives of future generations problematic.
Such an increase in the temperature of our planet will have a devastating impact on nature, bringing about irreversible changes in many ecosystems and consequent loss of biodiversity, that is, all living organisms and species that make up life on the planet, that is, animals, birds, fish and plants (fauna and flora). Many species are expected to disappear from areas that will be directly and severely affected by climate change.
Today, compared to 1850 -from when recording data began- a temperature increase of 1.1°C is observed. So, it is vital importance, the increase not to exceed 1.5°C, because as scientists estimate, beyond this crucial point there will be no way back.
The climate change, however, which is due to human activities, is a tangible ominous reality and is already adversely affecting our planet. The sectors responsible for the production of greenhouse gases are primarily the sector of energy produce (units of production of electrical power, refineries) but also industrial activities, the modern means of transport (cars, airplanes, etc.) and the activities of the primary production sector.
So, the extreme weather events, the uncontrolled fires in forests such as the Amazon that have been characterized as the “lung” of the planet, the heat waves, the heavy rainfall, the prolonged droughts that create serious eating problems in the affected areas of the planet, the very powerful hurricanes, are becoming constantly more often and more intensively, costing tens of thousands of lives every year and causing huge disasters.
The ice at the same time and snow on the poles are melting, with the Arctic being the biggest victim to date, and the world average sea level goes up, as a result to be caused floods and erosion on coasts and lowland coastal areas and to be created environmental refugees. If this unfavorable development continues, areas such as the Netherlands and Venice will be at risk of being permanently lost under the sea waters as new Atlantis.
The climate change also increases existing diseases worldwide but also creates new ones, and can also lead to premature death. Too many diseases are particularly sensitive to temperature change. To them included communicable diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, encephalitis and dengue fever, but also eating disorders, mental illnesses, cardiovascular diseases as well as respiratory diseases.
The climate change will also have negative impacts on the economies of the countries given the fact that the high temperatures undermine the productivity of most sectors of the economy, from the agricultural sector to processing. Valid scientists predict that by the end of the century, global GDP will have fallen by 7.22% from what it would have been without climate change.
The teenager Swedish activist against climate change, Greta Thunberg, has managed in the most vigorous and loud way to pass the debate over this huge problem, by the heads of state and government and public dialogue, in society and in the friendly discussions, mobilizing millions of people around the world, especially young people, who began to demonstrate demanding by governments the immediate taking of measures for the confrontation of climate change.
So, Swedish MPs rightly suggested her for the Nobel Peace Prize. And of course Greta Thunberg has big right when she says that the measures are being taken to reduce greenhouse gases and, above all, carbon dioxide are not sufficient.
So, what are the appropriate measures to be taken without delay to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and keep the temperature at + 1.5°C?
The basic policies for resolutely mitigating of the problem consist in promoting and utilizing renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass, etc.), the enhancing energy efficiency, the drastic reduction of the exploitation of oil and gas deposits and the imposition of carbon taxes in order that to limit the use of fossil fuels and thereby to reduce significantly carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050 at the latest, the rapid reduction of emissions of methane, carbon black and other short-lived pollutants that burden the climate, the restoration and protection of ecosystems and, above all, forests.
The Paris Agreement, the first universal, legally binding agreement for the climate, entered into force in 2016 with great optimism and manifest ambitions, despite the official US departure statement, which are one of the biggest polluters. Four years have passed since then and there are no substantial results, fact which raises serious questions as to whether there is really the political will to tackle this particularly threatening global problem.
In closing, I would like to emphasize that the effects of climate change will be so dramatic that human civilization will be in danger to collapse as a paper tower. So, in the face of this extremely dangerous climate crisis, the citizens around the world should increase their mobilization even further and the political leaders to finally stand up at the height of the circumstances and take immediately the necessary drastic measures, before it is too late, to reverse this unsustainable course and save the planet.
Isidoros Karderinis is a novelist, poet and columnist. He has studied economics and has completed postgraduate studies in the tourism economy. His articles have been published in newspapers, magazines and sites worldwide. His poems have been translated into English, French and Spanish and published in poetry anthologies, in literary magazines and literary sections of newspapers. He has published seven poetry books and three novels. His books have been published in USA, Great Britain, Spain and Italy.
You can reach him at skarderinis@hotmail.gr
The G20 “Compact with Africa (CwA)” was initiated in 2017, under the German G20 Presidency that year. Conceived as part of the G20 finance track, its goal is to promote private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure. Specifically, the Compact aims to increase the attractiveness of private investment through substantial improvements of the relevant macroeconomic, business and financing frameworks.
The official economic dimension aside, the unspoken but very real political motivation is to contain migration from Africa into Europe and to counter China’s steady advances on the African continent. Even so, for once, it seemed that Germany had introduced a smart economic blueprint into the G20. Based on “comprehensive, coordinated and country-specific Investment Compacts” prepared by the African countries and International Financial Institutions, private investment including in infrastructure, was to be promoted “with early private sector engagement.” So wrote the German Federal Ministry of Finance in 2017. So far, the Compact with Africa hasn’t taken off
Just recently, and a full two years and six months after the initiative’s launch, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the 12 African Compact with Africa partners to Berlin, to take stock of progress and to draw lessons. According to Helmet Reisen, the former Head of Research of the OECD Development Centre, three participant countries came from emerging North Africa: Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. The others were low-income countries that were all part of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative 20 years ago, countries with low debt tolerance and weak tax collection.
Helmet Reisen noted that while Compact summits are largely designed as jubilation events, there is little reason to celebrate so far. Robert Kappel´s new study for the Fredrick Ebert Foundation (FES) entitled “G20 Compact with Africa: The Audacity of Hope” shows that while investment conditions in the 12 African partner countries mostly improved, portfolio investments for infrastructure remained weak and foreign direct investment was lower after the Compact launch than before. Moreover, domestic savings and investment ratios declined and debt ratios were rising, as most Compact countries are notorious for low debt tolerance resulting from weak tax collection.
Granted, the Compact is only in its third year, a short period for an initiative conceived for the long haul. Holger Schmieding, the Chief Economist of Berenberg Bank in London argued that the train has started going in the wrong way. The African Center for Economic Transformation had diagnosed earlier this year that the reciprocal commitment of investors was not guaranteed by the Compact with Africa, resulting in an “ill-defined value proposition” for African partners.
Holger Schmieding noted that despite bilateral partnerships between Germany and selected Compact with Africa countries, the investment response by German companies has remained negligible in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following up on its own Marshall Plan with Africa, the German Federal Ministry in charge of development and cooperation, has started the Development Investment Fund for Africa in June to complement the Compact with Africa, beyond the existing measures to foster private investment. The German Economics Ministry also jumped on the bandwagon.
However, these programs are poorly coordinated. This generates confusion for Germany´s Small and Medium Enterprises which are a special target group for cooperation on the German side. The firms’ confusion stems from the large number of initiatives conducted by various German ministries. J.D. Bindenagel, Professor at the University of Bonn stated that what makes things worse is that African Compact with Africa partner countries have been subject to a bewildering array of government actions and specific targets required from them in so-called Policy Matrices. For all 12 Compact with Africa partners combined, the total number of required government actions and policy targets as well as involved foreign partner institutions easily reached 300 in early 2018.
J.D. Bindenagel noted that in many cases, the number of required actions, targets and partners has been rising with each update of the country matrix. Reflecting an unsolved principal-agent problem, the Compact with Africa initiative is rather owned by multilateral agencies, especially the World Bank´s International Finance Corporation. J.D. Bindenagel further noted that it is not helpful that these agencies, following their own internal logic, push their norms and indicators such as the discredited “Doing Business” ranking on the countries involved. Unfortunately, G20 leaders don’t bother about key items such as prioritization or considering the severely limited government management capacities of most Compact partner countries.
Helmet Reisen argued that the deeper problem for the Compact is that private cross-border flows have rarely resulted in the sustained transformation of poor countries. Another problem is that the kind of flows emphasized by the Compact with Africa are unsuitable for fiscally weak low-income countries. Smart and imaginative as that sounds, apart from general investment barriers such as political instability, in the African low-income country context common project risks for infrastructure investments need to be considered.
Consider two instruments that are supposed to entice private infrastructure funding. Fiscal contingencies could burden weak public finances in countries where debt tolerance has already proven low. Some Compact countries (Ethiopia, Ghana) have been assessed recently under “high” risk of debt distress in the IMF/WB Debt Sustainability Framework. Debt vulnerability should further mitigate the role of external private flows to fund a country if it piles up implicit public liabilities, such as in public-private partnerships.
To conclude, the Compact with Africa has focused attention on the wrong kind of flows for infrastructure funding in low income countries. At the low-income bottom of the income/capita scale, grants and soft loans, local taxes and migrants´ remittances tend to dominate the financing mix. Private cross-border capital flows, mostly direct and portfolio equity or bond flows, only start to dominate the external funding mix once countries graduate to the upper-middle-income levels.
With its emphasis on blended finance and foreign direct investments that tends to be too capital intensive and enclaved in special zones, the Compact with Africa has confronted headwinds from the beginning. One way out of the current dilemma would be for remittances to play a more prominent role.
With a sizeable migrant diaspora providing skills and networks in Europe and North America, as well as remittances, all these assets, many non-financial, should be conducive to strengthening the socio-economic development of the Compact with Africa countries. If all of these forces are looped in properly, there is a very real prospect of providing jobs and linking domestic investment to the world as well as fostering rural development.
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