Parliament approved the appointment of new foreign affairs, defense and construction ministers. It was the third cabinet reshuffle since the Prime Minister came to power a year ago.
Through last Thursday’s appointments, PM Abiy Ahmed has placed close allies in key positions. They are former administrators of Oromia and Amhara regional states.
President of Oromia Regional State, Lemma Megersa, is the new minister of defense. He replaces Ayisha Mohammed, who had the job for six months. She was the first women to hold the position. Gedu Andargachew, the former President of Amhara Region has become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, filling the vacant position after Workeneh Gebeyehu left to work with the United Nations office in Nairobi.
Similarly, Ayisha Mohammed who became the first female Defense Minister in October 2018, has moved to Urban Development and Construction Ministry, a position she once held before becoming the Minister of Tourism and Culture.
Kassa Gugsa, a lawmaker from the Tigrian People Liberation Front (TPLF) raised his concern about the frequent change of ministers with no or little clarification by the parliament. His concern was echoed by another lawmaker saying that ministers should at least stay for a year. While Lemma and Ayisha have appeared to the Parliament to be sworn in, Gedu Andargachew has not shows up for an undisclosed reason. Both Lemma and Gedu often nicknamed, team Lemma, reportedly played a critical role in the reform that ended the 27 years plus domination of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) within the ruling coalition the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The parliament has approved the appointment of the ministers with the majority voting in support of the reshuffle. There was one no vote and five abstentions.
Cabinet reshuffle third in a year
Report to examine displacement in Ethiopia
Parliament members have been conducting an investigative report on the status of internally displaced people and the status of peace and security in four regional states. It will soon be released to the public.
The lawmakers have gone to Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern People’s Nation and Nationality regional states to gather information on internally displaced persons in each region.
According to Misrak Mekonnen, head of the parliament’s secretariat office, members of the parliament have recently returned from the four regional states and are compiling their report.
Some of the parliamentarians traveling in Amhara were involved in a car accident. Thankfully, no one was injured.
The report analyzes the causes, impact and recommendations to curb ongoing internal displacement and rehabilitate IDP to their homeland.
“This will show the commitment and hard work the lawmakers have put in to the job,” Misrak said.
The role of security forces in relation to displacement and deteriorated security issues is being looked into.
According to UNDP, Ethiopia is registered one of the fastest growing internally displaced population (IDPs) in the world. Over three million IDPs are in the country. This has been instigated by inter-communal violence.
US grants 9m birr for nutrition
Save the Children announced a new Grants-under-Grant program in which the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Growth Through Nutrition Project will provide more than nine million Ethiopian birr (more than USD 300,000) to three woredas in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration to end child under-nutrition by 2030. Over the next year, the grants will support Debark and Ebinat woredas in Amhara regional state, and Nader Adet woreda in Tigray, by strengthening the woreda authorities’ capacity to deliver locally appropriate nutrition interventions.
Senior representatives of the National Nutrition Program implementing ministries, CEO of Save the Children USA, Save the Children in Ethiopia’s Country Director, and USAID’s acting Deputy Mission Director participated in the event, which highlighted the achievements of the Growth through Nutrition project over the past two years and marked the official rollout of the first grants to the three woredas. The event also emphasized the Growth through Nutrition project’s innovative approaches and multi-sectoral, integrated nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions to reduce stunting.
The Growth through Nutrition project is USAID’s flagship five-year (2016-2021), multi-sectoral nutrition and WASH project, implemented by Save the Children. Currently at its mid-point, it has reached more than 2.2 million children under the age of 5 and 375,000 pregnant women with quality nutrition services. Growth through Nutrition is working to improve the nutritional status of women and young children in four regions of Ethiopia – Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray – with a focus on enhancing nutrition during the first 1,000 days of children’s lives, from conception to age two. The project is implemented in collaboration with the Government of Ethiopia and a consortium of six international and five local partners.
PM to attend second Belt and Road forum
Several sideline and bilateral events regarding Ethiopia are expected during the upcoming second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will attend, along with 40 other world leaders.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Tan Jian said that upon the invitation President Xi Jinping, PM Abiy will attend the forum that is expected to take place for three days starting from April 25 in Beijing.
Ambassador Tan said that Ethiopia is a strong partner of China regarding all aspects not only on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that President Xi put forth in 2013.
The theme of this year’s BRF is: Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future. The Forum events include the opening ceremony, leaders’ round-table, high-level meeting, thematic forums, CEO conference and other side events.
The upcoming visit to China would be the second for PM Abiy within 8 months. He went to China last September.
According to the ambassador some few African leaders are also invited for the forum besides several government officials of different countries in the continent.
Tan ridiculed some political experts speculation that the relation of the two countries is not warm as before Abiy’s period. “Our relation is very strong as usual, you can see that this is the second time within few months for the visit of Pm Abiy to China,” he told Capital.
“Representatives from over 100 countries, including about 40 leaders of foreign governments, including PM Abiy Ahmed, have confirmed their attendance. As the host country, we will, together with other Forum parties, take stock of what has been achieved and draw a blueprint for future cooperation to further enrich BRI cooperation,” he said at a press conference held on Thursday April 18 at the compound of the Chinese Embassy.
Tan said that BRI cooperation is not a talk shop, but an action-oriented initiative that delivers tangible outcomes. The second BRF is expected to produce a full range of deliverables, including governmental cooperation agreements and initiatives, as well as concrete cooperation projects involving participation of the business sectors. “We hope and believe that the participating parties attending the Forum will build on successful practices and jointly develop a multi-tiered cooperation framework with more real results of still higher quality,” he added.
He said that BRI is an important initiative for international cooperation to enhance China’s cooperation with global partners. The BRI represents a major breakthrough in both theory and practice, and it carries far-reaching significance.
So far, a total of 124 countries and 29 international organizations including Ethiopia have signed BRI cooperation documents with China. “Ethiopia is among the first batch of African countries who signed cooperation documents concerning jointly building the Belt and Road, and China supports Ethiopia in playing a bigger role as a bridge and a link for jointly advancing the BRI in Africa,” he added.
“Protectionism and unilateralism are rising, so are uncertainties and destabilizing factors. As stressed by President Xi, the BRI is a significant move China has taken to fully open itself under the new conditions, and it embodies China’s commitment to sharing development opportunities and outcomes with more countries in the world,” the ambassador added on his press conference.
The latest studies by the World Bank and other international institutions suggest that the BRI cooperation will cut the costs of global trade by 1.1 to 2.2 percent. It will contribute at least 0.1 percent of global growth in 2019.
During the first BRF held in 2017 Hailemariam Desalegn, the then Prime Minister of Ethiopia, attended the Summit.
