Consolidating the Horn from the outside is all the rage in the twilight of the modern world system. Before looking at the economic imperatives of consolidating the Horn from the inside, (citizens/member countries) we will look at the ‘all of a sudden interests’ emanating from the outside. There are two opposing camps working towards this consolidation project. One is represented by empire and its associates in MENA (Middle East & North Africa). By empire, we usually mean the triad (Samir’s word; God bless his soul), the US, Western Europe and Japan. Here, the strategy is more or less known; it is to maintain the global status quo with the reigning hegemon intact at the helm. The other is the interest pursued by the new ascending powers spearheaded, for the most part, by China and Russia. The SCO ensemble (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) is probably the real representative of this new gathering force!
The BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) of the Chinese is a massive undertaking that can potentially rearrange the current world order. It envisions integrating economically (hence, culturally, etc., etc.) the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. The Eurasian project is already underway and the SCO is going to be the main vehicle for this project. The Eurasia land mass contains the largest known deposit of fossil fuel (including natural gas), to say nothing about other natural resources. It is also home to about 45% of the total human population. The BRI is going to be an integrated economic system that is going to rely, mostly, on road and rail networks. To recall; Russian and China are land based powers. These countries are now determined, more than ever, to leverage their physical geography to advance a global system that will have its center of gravity more towards the east. The stakeholders in this new system will be the numerous states and their population, as they will be critical to the functioning of the whole amalgam. Therefore, as far as the new ascending new project is concerned, multi-polarity is already baked in. This inclusively encompassing project, on its own, can have a stabilizing influence amongst the numerous nations that have been in conflicts for centuries. Geography is going to become destiny, again!
The BRI initiative also includes our continent. To that end, a corridor or corridors are needed to connect Eurasia and Africa. The best option for this seems to be along the Res Sea coast. Bab-el-Mendeb is a strait between the two continents and has a span of only 20 km! This is another of the choke points of the global sea routes, like the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Directly or indirectly controlling such Straits has been critical to the previous/current sea powers of the world system, namely the British and the American empires. Relinquishing the management of these sea passages to a new multipolar arrangement is bound to undermine the existing status quo, hence, might not be welcomed by empire, to say the least! Be that as it may, the two camps (empire & SCO) implicitly agree on the need to have reliable and permanent security zone around the Strait of Bab-el-Mendeb. In regards to this particular objective, the current war in Yemen is not going to help. To counteract the current situation on the Asian side of the Red Sea, the African coast must be strengthened, per force!
The oil kingdoms and powerful others want to protect this critical sea route, which is used for transporting goods, including oil to Europe and beyond. The Strait of Bab-el-Mendeb is becoming increasingly important as the Strait of Hormuz becomes increasingly volatile. If the Strait of Hormuz runs into potential difficulty, on the account of disagreements between Iran and the US, the only way to get oil out of Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be via Yemen, Oman or the Red Sea (assuming the northern route via Syria, etc. will remain inaccessible)! The former two might not always be compliant to empire’s desire (for various reasons), leaving the Red Sea as the more realistic option. And for that to happen, pipelines need to be built across the Arabian Peninsula all the way to the Red Sea coast! Far fetched as this might sound, the scenario is being entertained by the rich and the powerful. To this end, a meaningful naval force must also be established in the Horn, to protect the Strait ob Bab-el-Mendeb and the whole Red Sea coast. Amongst others, the ports of Assab and Massawa need to be revived. Even though Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, assuring the safety of vessels, in its proximity, has become problematic after the collapse of the Mogadishu government in 1991. Besides, Somalia might be a bit off, geographically speaking. Today the consensus (amongst both contending groups) seems to be: the consolidated Horn, backstopped by landlocked Ethiopia, is probably the best option to secure the safety of the Red Sea, particularly the Strait of ‘Bab-el-Mendeb’. This, in a nutshell, is why the ‘sudden’ interest in the Horn, by various parties!
Unless BRI is severely impeded by empire, here we are going to coin a new word, Eurasiafric, will end up becoming the largest and biggest economic zone in the world. With a population of over 50% of humanity and the largest deposits of remaining natural resources on earth, to say nothing about its hardly tapped market, Eurasiafric, can easily reconfigure the existing world system! BRI envisions connecting African countries by road and rail networks, thereby economically empowering many of the poorer nations of the world system in the process. Herein lies the challenge to the global status quo, which is adamantly determined to continue leveraging the ‘good old’ polarizing globalization! The Anglo-American empire needs to assess its geo-strategy, rather soberly. We believe, the current hegemon must try to approach the whole scenario with a spirit of cooperation rather than confrontation. See the articles next column and on page 50. At times, letting go is the best policy! Most importantly, diversity is going to be the only game in the universe of Eurasiafric. Hence, the old model of accumulation that leveraged slavery, colonialism, racism, ethnic-ism, religion, sexism, etc. might well be inoperative in the years to come!
“Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it, ‘all men are created equal, except negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read, ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.’ When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty. Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Writings, 1832-1858. Good Day!
CONSOLIDATING THE HORN
Addis volunteers bring “New Formula for a New Hope”
The Addis Ababa City Administration has launched a New Year Campaign with the motto: “Ye-Adiss Tesfa Kemer”, which means a New Formula for New Hope. It will integrate artists, public figures and young volunteers who want to serve others.
During a press conference held at Capital Hotel last week the deputy mayor, Dagmawit Moges, launched the campaign to help the poor, elderly and children. Around 114 houses are selected by the summer volunteers to be furnished by the new team. Others will clean the dirtiest areas of the city.
Refurbishing elderly residences will be used as symbols of voluntary work and a promotion of a strong working culture, according to Dagmawit. The artists and public figures will construct and refurbish the homes of elderly residents by themselves and items will be donated to help others in need.
“Even though there is a culture of refurnishing houses at the beginning of New Year in Ethiopia, some are even suffering for their survival. We want to show others how they can demonstrate love for their country,” said Dagmawit.
The campaign is also planning to give school uniforms to 30,000 students. They also plan to improve school nutrition programs.
The summer volunteers will differentiate more than 90 dirty places to be cleaned and transferred to the youth in the area or a sustainable clean city plan.
The campaign began with planting trees at the hills of Entoto Mariam on Saturday.
It was founded to enable the community to express the new hope and new spirit, according to the newly appointed culture and tourism bureau head of the city, Nebiyu Bayu.
“The campaign will be finalized on the eve of the New Year with a festival and there will be different mini-festivals in the Woreda level,” said Nebiyu.
Around 170 artistes met at Capital Hotel prior to the launching of the campaign.
“The details of the last festival will be disclosed soon,” Nebiyu concluded.
Djibouti, Ethiopian logistics leaders meet to improve sector
A delegation comprised of top leaders in the Ethiopian logistics sector visited Djibouti for two days, between August 15 and 17, where they observed operations and discussed improvements they wanted their Djiboutian counterparts to focus on.
Several areas of concern were addressed during the meeting which took place in the conference room of the Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP).
“There are some challenges with the port service that have to be improved,” Eshetie Assfaw, State Minister of Transport said. “We have also agreed on developing logistical standards so that they resemble other countries. In addition, new technology is expected to be applied to port services as per our agreement with the leaders of the logistics sector in Djibouti to modernize the service.”
They also reviewed the additional capabilities deployed this year by DMP to best meet the needs of neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia, according the information Capital obtained from the Djibouti side. This included improving services to accelerate the operation and connecting the railway line with the port at Doraleh and using modern technologies in the operation.
The Ethiopian delegation also talked about linking the railway line from DMP to the main line. Eshetie stated that the two sides agreed to conclude the line, which is about one kilometer, until September. When the line is connected it will be easy for Ethiopia to take the bulk and other cargos from the port directly to Ethiopia within a short period as opposed to stranding cargos at the port for several days, which would likely mean additional demurrage costs, according to Eshetie.
“In DMP, we will have five loading lines for the trains,” Mohamed Aref Mohamed, Head of the Marketing Department of DPFZA, told Capital.
He added that the railway feasibility study mentioned 20 freight trains per day, now there are two trains per day but the market needs at least 10 trains. “From both sides, all the necessary improvements are being undertaken,” he said.
The delegation met with the Ethiopian transport associations’ representative in Djibouti, who was experiencing some problems which they agreed to solve.
The Ethiopian delegation members also visited the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT).
On February 22, 2018 Djibouti took the management from DP World they also took over the Horizon Djibouti Oil Terminal. According to statements from the Djibouti side, during the visit to DCT, which is already in the final stages of connecting with the railway line, the management said productivity had increased since February 22.
“They learned that three loading lines connecting DCT to the road are in the process of being finalized. The capacity of these future loading lines will be 106 containers per train,” a spokesperson told Capital.
According to sources in Djibouti, the delegation wanted the oil terminal, which is also located at Doraleh, connected to the railway.
The two parties also had discussions on various lines of partnership between the management of DMP and the entities in charge of logistics in Ethiopia.
Djibouti will continue to be a major hub for Ethiopia as Ethiopia expands its port access in the region. The nation is the major port outlet for Ethiopia with up to a 95 percent share of cargo services. The two countries have undertaken several projects including an electrified railway. Ethiopia has 75 shares, while Djibouti owns the balance. According to the project design the line has to be connected at major ports in Djibouti especially the Doraleh Multipurpose Port, the biggest port facility in the region.
The recently appointed State Minister said that they have talked about Ethiopia’s latest move to expand port services across the region. “Djibouti says they are not disappointed or worried about our move, and they want to do business as a business model,” he told Capital.
He went on to say that even though Ethiopia is aggressively looking for more ports it is obvious that Djibouti will continue as the major hub for Ethiopia since the country is equipped with modern port infrastructure and a railway line. “We have expressed our stand and they are also delighted,” he added.
“The government’s intention with Eritrea is not to accesses ports. It is beyond that. It has to do with the historical relation between the two brotherly nations,” Eshetie emphasized.
A week ago Mohamed Aref Mohamed, Head of the Marketing Department of DPFZA, told Capital that Djibouti welcomes free and fair competition. He said that for the last three decades, Djibouti has been a trans- shipment hub for the Red Sea and East African ports, and continues to be more than ever. “We are linking countries to one of the busiest maritime trade routes in the world,” he said.
“Indeed, our infrastructure capacity is far larger than Djibouti and Ethiopia’s external trade. Our relationship with Ethiopia is of vital importance but Djibouti’s facilities are strategic for the whole region. Our ports are designed to be a transshipment hub and have sufficient capacity volume to service Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Sudan, Aden, Berbera and Massawa, which have served for many decades (is not a new business),” he added.
The delegation was led by Eshetie Assfaw, State Minister of Transport (MoT). Hiwot Mosisa, State Minister of MoT, Araya Girmay, State Minister of MoT, Abdissa Yadeta, Director General of the Federal Transport Authority, Mekonnen Abera Director General of the Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority, Roba Megerssa, CEO of Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise, and Tilahun Sarka (Eng), CEO of Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company took part in the talks.
They met with Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, Saad Omar Guelleh, Managing Director of Djibouti Port Corporation (PDSA), Wahib Daher Aden, Executive Director of DMP, and several other managers.
Sweden supporting women empowerment
With support from the Swedish Embassy, Initiative Africa (IA), a local NGO, has launched a USD 1.5 million project to improve economic and social empowerment and wellbeing for young women
The– project “Making Change Happen” directly benefits girl students in junior and senior high school and girls who have dropped out of school in communities. Despite all the effort about empowerment these days, women are still stereotyped, especially if they try to fit into men-dominated spaces. Many industries, such as the tech, engineering, media and construction sectors employ very few women compared to men. This is not because women are less capable in those domains; they are just made to believe so, and in many cases, are denied the chance to prove their worth. The project covers 92 Woredas in six regional administrative areas.
Nearly 200,000 girls and boys will directly benefit from the project which seeks to increase women’s participation, leadership, influence and decision making skills by focusing on the workplace, schools, communities and the media.
Hopes are that this will reduce levels of gender based violence and sexual harassment from the earliest stages, and introduce or expand gender mainstreaming as a strategy towards realizing gender equality in public and private organizations.
Annika Jayawardenar, Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy said “protecting the rights of girls is key to sustaining social and economic development so learning how to uphold rights is vital,’’as she signed a Grant Agreement with Kebour Ghenna, Executive Director of IA last Thursday.
During the ceremony, Kebour pointed out that empowerment projects such as this one are geared towards helping young girls and women have a voice in the society and achieve their full potential. Kebour appreciated the Swedish Embassy for the support it lent to the organization since 2006.
Ethiopia suffers from some of the lowest gender equality performance indicators in Sub-Saharan Africa. While good progress was made in the past decade on several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the country still fails short in advancing the social, economic and political participation of women.
The Ethio=Sweden relations began in 1866 when the first Swedish missionaries landed in Massawa. Since then partnership covered a wide range of development areas including education, health, democracy and human rights, research roads, humanitarian assistance and civil society cooperation.
Initiative Africa (IA) works to promote self-reliance, opportunity, and access to key supports for persons vulnerable to poverty. Since its re-registration in 2009, IA has teamed up with NGOs, associations, policymakers, and journalists to reduce poverty through leadership training, advisory services, connectivity and experience sharing.
