“There’s no tradeoff where if you take less foreign aid you get more trade, those two things exist absolutely separately. Trade terms for Africa are actually in almost every case extremely favorable,” Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates stated during a conference call with African journalists. The call revolved around the 2018 Annual Letter by the two Co-Chairs of the foundation which focused on their response on 10 tough questions they received over the years from nonprofit partners, government leaders and the general public.
Speaking on a question regarding why the Foundation doesn’t focus on building capacities of trade instead of focusing on aid, Gates stated that for the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act gives Africa the lowest tariffs for trade.
“The key is to raise up the health and education and infrastructure and the quality of governments in Africa so that there’s more output, high quality output. And, yes, over time growing the economies of the African countries, including through trade, growing the private sector, will be key to them achieving middle income status and being self-sufficient. But the foreign aid is helpful to that because the key thing is, you’ve got to get the health and nutrition and education up to a very high level to drive the economic growth at full speed,” he told Capital.
Gates further stated that “Of course, Ethiopia has a plan where they’re growing the infrastructure. They’re improving the health. They’re improving the farming output. And that over a 20-year period will move Ethiopia up to a kind of middle income status. And then probably the foreign aid will go and focus on countries that are not as far along.”
He underlined that when looking at malaria bed nets or vaccines for pneumonia or diarrhea or certain kinds of expertise, like the partnership the Foundation has had in Ethiopia with the Agricultural Transformation Agency, the benefits there have been strong. “And, of course, in agriculture that becomes private sector and over time, as the livestock is more productive, as the seeds are more productive, that does result in trade. So in agriculture it is a direct connection to improving trade results. In the case of health, there’s no direct financial payback, but it’s those healthy kids going to school that will be key to the future economic growth,” Gates said.
Speaking on the issue of unemployment among the youth on the continent, Gates stated that there are appropriately expectations by those youth, that the government will provide the stability, the food, the education and economic opportunity; it’s a big enough population bulge that that won’t be easy to do.
“Of course, this challenge was faced in the past by China and India and many Asian countries that managed both in agriculture and manufacturing and services to have good enough health of the population, and good enough education that they, both the domestic and the export market, were able to create that employment. Usually what happens is you raise the productivity in the agricultural sector and create value-added jobs in agriculture. You also have migration into the cities. So then in the cities you have to create in services and manufacturing quite a bit of new jobs.”
“There’s a partnership between Ethiopia and UNIDO that’s fairly unique in terms of looking at bringing factories, including a number of Chinese and other factories. And, of course, there’s been a lot of work to build the infrastructure, like the rail and road connections through Djibouti. So as the country gets the increased electricity and improved infrastructure, there should be some opportunity for Ethiopia in particular to follow a Vietnamese-like model. But a ton of things need to work very well for that to happen in terms of the education quality, and the infrastructure quality, and the predictability of the government policies,” he said.
Aid as necessary for African countries as trade, Bill Gates
Dangerous Crossings; new campaign hopes to inform migrants on dangers of their journey
UNHCR launched a major information campaign in the Horn of Africa region to raise awareness of the dangers of crossing to and through Yemen. The main feature of the campaign is the music video Dangerous Crossings, and video testimonies by victims of the smuggling trade. The music video features prominent artists who are credible to target audiences: Yeshi Demalash, Dawit Nega and Tadele Roba from Ethiopia, Maryam Mursal and Armaanta from Somalia and Hany Adel from Egypt. The video testimonies are powerful firsthand accounts by refugees and migrants from the region.
“This campaign is very important to the fight against the adversities of irregular migration especially in the Horn of Africa. It is part of a sustained effort to inform people in the region about the dangers involved in taking the route to Yemen in the hopes of being able to continue from there to a destination of choice; be it in Europe, Saudi Arabia or other gulf states,” said Matthew Crentsil, Deputy Representative of UNHCR.
The method of the awareness raising, combining the appeal of music performed by popular artists with statements by ordinary people who have survived terrible ordeals on the journey is thought to be more effective than others. The campaign engages young people, their families and communities, stimulates discussion, and challenges the smuggler’s tales about Yemen as a safe destination.
“It is quite distressing to know that every week, more than five thousand people, refugees and migrants, cross the red sea or Gulf of Eden to Yemen. The smugglers are organized in criminal gangs and cooperate across borders. At every stage of the journey people are expected to pay large sums of money and the fees go far beyond what had already been agreed on.
To reach people tools such as social media, radio, TV print media, billboards and posters are being used. Yemen has been ravaged by a vicious war since 2015 and is today the largest humanitarian crisis in the world with epidemics and famine added to the horrors of war. But, startlingly every year, tens of thousands of people continue to cross the sea from the horn of Africa to the war torn country, risking their lives at the hands of smugglers. In 2016, 117,000 people went on that journey and approximately he same number last year.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn has submitted his resignation
Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn has submitted his resignation. His resignation is accepted by his party EPRDF. He said that the country is in a crossroads.
Jubilation, defiance as activists, political prisoners released
Celebration filled the air as the 746 prisoners were released earlier today from the maximum security Kality prison.
The prisoners that include Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega and Abebe Kesto, were released after protests in Oromia and Amhara region rocked the country in the past two years.
Abebe told Capital that the people set them free. “It is the peaceful struggle that sets us free.”
Eskinder also said that the struggle for freedom will continue. “I will start the peaceful struggle now not tomorrow” he told Capital.
Andualem also said that he is happy that he is free.
Their relatives and supporters crowded the main prison gate in the afternoon cheering them as they walk free.
Yesterday Oromo Federalist Congress members including Bekele Gerba, Gurmesa Ayano, Adisu Bullala and Dejene Tafa were also released in hopes of reconciliation.
