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Month: February 2021

For Better or Worse, State Sovereignty Blurs with Globalisation

Posted on by Web Master

Ancient Greece Philosopher Cicero once said that a rational discussion on any topic should first define the subject matter. Thus, it is critical to state what is meant by “globalisation.”

As a result of numerous invocations in various media outlets and books, the term has entered everyday language without having a universally accepted single definition. Globalisation is so broad a phenomenon that comprehensive description now seems almost futile. Nevertheless, the Peterson Institute for International Economics offers a helpful definition:

“The growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information.”

In some instances, globalisation is synonymous with terms such as internationalisation, liberalisation, universalisation, Westernisation and even deterritorialisation. Although there is a gulf of difference as to the advantages of globalisation, virtually no one denies its existence.

As we used to know it, the concept of sovereignty has been eroded by globalisation. Traditionally, sovereignty, which stems from the treaties signed during the Peace of Westphalia, are understood to mean that every state has complete autonomy to determine what is going on and will be going in their territory. This is known as the Westphalian sovereignty, and it dates back to the 17th century.

Things have changed over the last few centuries. There is a new understanding of international law, which is sometimes referred to as world law, supernatural law or cosmopolitan law, to distinguish from the traditional precept established in the Westphalian cities of German.

Current international law governs not only the relationship between states but also between states and individuals. The process of creating, interpreting and enforcing international law is also vastly different.

One such area where an individual can claim more rights than what is provided under national law is human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a common standard of achievement for all people and nations that expands the rights of people and the obligation of the states. Subsequent to this, various international treaties such as the international conventions on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Economic and Social Rights, widen the rights of the individual. These international instruments provide rights and access to individuals to prosecute a state at international forums such as the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court on Human & People’s Rights.

The effect of globalisation is also well reflected in the power of states to regulate a domestic economy. In the traditional concept of internal sovereignty, states virtually single-handedly determine their economic policies regarding tariffs, quotas, state subsidies and safety standards. However, with the increasing prominence of international corporations, this right has become eroded.

For instance, under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), member states are free to determine the amount of tariff they want to charge. However, once they decide on a maximum tariff, they cannot charge over this rate. On top of this, under the WTO, quota and voluntary export restraints are prohibited. Member states can impose an equivalent tariff on any other member country that violates this rule. These two key instruments have two purposes: open market access for foreigners while at the same time restricting the power of the state to regulate.

One of the cornerstones of international trade is the principle of non-discrimination. A member state is neither allowed to discriminate its products against those of other countries nor extend more favourable treatment to any single WTO member that does not apply to all others.

Although there are exceptional circumstances that allow deviation from the principle, there are stringent requirements to benefit from them. For instance, agreements on products and services that impact human, animal and plant health make it clear that a discriminatory measure should be taken only based on sufficient scientific evidence. The exception should not be used to constitute a disguise of a restrictive policy. On top of this, under the WTO system, the Trade Policy Review and the dispute settlement mechanisms substantially affect state sovereignty.

Another prominent effect of globalisation is the proliferation of international organisations that have a legal personality. For instance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under its Poverty Reduction & Growth Facility, requires borrower countries to incorporate good governance and reform their domestic policy by raising taxes, cutting expenses and lifting restrictions on financial flow. Likewise, since the 1960s, the World Bank has been consistent in adopting and enforcing policy-based lending, which requires borrowers to reform the civil service, state-owned enterprises and the justice system.

Taken together, such economic and political international legal policies constrain the power of the state to regulate social life. K. Mills captures the impacts of globalisation in his famous essay, “Reconstructing Sovereignty: A Human Rights Perspective.”

“The dividing line between international law and domestic law is becoming increasingly blurred … the principle of non-intervention which has been the link between the internal and external dimension of sovereignty, correspondingly weakens,” he wrote.

We live in a time where the absolute sovereignty of a state, as we used to know it, is no longer a reality. There is an ever-growing interdependency among states that make it nearly impossible for any given country to act independently as much as it would like.

Although there is no single definition for the term globalisation, its existence and impacts are undoubted. As a result, states split their sovereignty with various regional and global institutions. Moreover, globalisation has forced states to shape and reconsider their domestic and foreign policies, which has ultimately eroded one of the central and defining features of a state: sovereignty.

Who Pays for the New Economic Paradigm?

Posted on by Web Master

For the uninitiated, income and wealth could mean the same thing. The former is a flow of money; the latter are assets held by a person or a household over a certain time. For many around the world, savings could be considered wealth. In Ethiopia, not so much.

This is because the Birr is not something we can count on to accurately represent our level of wealth. For instance, last year, annual general inflation stood around 20pc. Most commercial banks have a deposit interest of eight percent. This means that a household or a person with 100,000 Br in savings just lost 12,000 Br of their wealth. Since there is usually a double-digit inflationary rate – at around 16pc on average over the past year – the Birr is essentially an unreliable asset to hold as wealth.

Matters are not getting any better, which is concerning to low-income households. Over the past three years, nearly everything has been spiking in price, including food items. It is getting harder to put food on the table, let alone dealing with sudden health emergencies or covering rent.

Usually, behind such pressures is the unabated growth in the supply of money by a government that attempted to stimulate the economy through infrastructure projects. Here, a lot of money printing was done to cover budget deficits.

This time around, it is also the government’s doing but in a more direct way that could help the health of Ethiopia’s economy.

One of these reasons is the depreciation of the Birr. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) applauds this move. It believes that the current value of the Birr does not reflect its actual demand. The country should move toward a market-clearing rate to reflect the Birr’s real value, which the Fund believes that it still has yet to do, and address one of the structural imbalances in the economy.

But Ethiopia subsists with the help of a large import bill. Basic stuff like wheat and edible oil are imported as are raw materials for the construction and manufacturing sectors. This means that the more expensive major currencies get – as valued in Birr – the cost of living rockets higher. Previous administrations have also taken this pill, but perhaps not as aggressively. Over the past fiscal year, the value of the Birr has fallen by about a third of what it was.

Another critical factor feeding inflation is the gradual lifting of subsidies on several essential goods and services. Most recently, this was fuel, which is subsidised for several billions of Birr every year. Currently, a litre of gasoline costs 25.82 Br, compared to an equivalent of 43 Br in Kenya, 40 Br in Rwanda and 43 Br in Uganda, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com. The government is also gradually lifting prices on electricity where, here too, the country has one of the lowest in the world. The same kilowatt per hour of electricity in Ethiopia cost about 23 times less than in neighbouring Kenya last June.

Much of these subsidies help urban households more than they do rural ones. Both car benzene and electricity consumption are highest among urban households, thus, these are not even particularly pro-poor subsidies, at least not in a direct way. This is especially the case for sugar, which is no longer being subsidised as well.

Much of this seems in line with the recommendations the IMF has been hammering for as long as it has been engaged with Ethiopia. They are not terrible pieces of advice, especially if there is budget discipline. There is some reason to be optimistic about this as well.

“The government has maintained considerable budgetary discipline, with moderate increases in the general government budget deficit, to 2.8pc of GDP and government debt to GDP, while total SOE debt to GDP has fallen,” Fitch, the credit rating agency, has reported.

No less encouraging is the introduction of a T-bill market to move away from central bank financing, which since demand for money is artificial fuels inflation.

There are two major problems though. One is the political crisis, with an armed conflict that erupted in November 2020. This is not necessarily the sort of climate that is conducive to a dynamic private sector. Policies meant to help this very sector will be undermined if the government cannot mitigate the prevalence of political violence.

Also pertinent is the matter of consent. Most economists – at least those who agree there is a science to capitalism – would commend the government’s policy prescriptions. I do as well, mainly if there is a commitment to budget discipline.

The question is: does the Ethiopian public?

Addressing the economy’s imbalances requires breaking some eggs to make an omelette. The eggs, in this case, are low-income households, especially in urban areas. These people will bear the harshest economic conditions, even if the logic behind current policies is that they would be fundamental to creating a more resilient and dynamic economy in the future.

For this, the government needs to come clean on the economic direction it is taking the country. It needs to get public buy-in, no matter how disciplined it may be in its spending and borrowing. Low-income households will pay the biggest sacrifice, and whatever its merits, it is as much a political discussion as it is an economic one.

More than Aesthetics, Flowers Offer Hope

Posted on by Web Master

A hoot and holler away from my house, in consonance with a new cobblestone alleyway, residents were busily face-lifting their undersized open spaces – in their way. It was weeks back. Notable were seedlings planted on the fences. Two juxtaposed houses not too far from my house take the cake though, flaunting freshly planted silky oaks.

I was able to see the seedlings as they were planted close to their main fencings – concrete walls. With the barbed wires on top, it seemed like they were giving the walls a final touch. It immediately reminded me of an Armenian friend I have, born and raised here, now residing in London. Her heart though is always here. She usually updates her social media page on the status of her garden flowers.

It also recalls to mind the celebrations for Valentine’s Day, on February 14, when red roses were all around town. This time they were not on fences, but it was a showcase of the ascending local demand for flowers, for things that are aesthetic.

Steven Pinker, writer and psychologist, says we are visual creatures. Visual things stay put as sounds fade. It explains why I could not break my thoughts from the scene from my neighbourhood. The aesthetics help us think of better days, things still to come. As the anti-war song by Pete Seeger, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” goes, it reminds us that not everything is bleak and life could once more get better.

That is why I enjoy visiting this flower store now and then. It could be found squeezed between a liquor store and a retail shop for khat. A mother of three kids was busy inside, showing her kids how to arrange the plants and teaching them the language of flowers and their symbolism. She told them that red roses are associated with love and beauty. I joined the discussion, citing that the Romans put Loosestrife flowers under the yokes of oxen to keep the animals from fighting each other.

A flower caught my eye – a precious tulip, all green from the stem, the pure yellow corolla, with green flares on all its petals. It reminded me of the Semper Augustus, the empress of tulips in the vividness of its colour and the purity of its form.

“To call it simply a red and white flower would be like describing rubies and emeralds as red and green stones,” historian Mike Dash wrote. “Everyone who saw it concurred that it was a plant of quite exceptional beauty. It had a slender stem that carried its flower well clear of its leaves and showed off its vivid colours to the best effect.”

I was thrilled not only because of the courtesy of the woman running the small shop in my neighbourhood and having a reasonably priced yellow marvel tulip variety, the sort I keep dried at home. It was excellent news to hear of the difficulty she has of meeting customers’ demands for the various varieties of flowers.

I went home thinking about the thousands of mainly young girls coming out from the flower sheds of growers while travelling by the side of the farms, whose livelihoods depend on the flower trade’s success. The flower industry is imbued with vast potential. The domestic demand is only growing, while owners of flower farms have plenty of customers worldwide.

It speaks to the dynamism of the sector that 15 years since its inception, Ethiopia has become the fourth biggest exporter of flowers around the world. It has generated nearly a quarter of a billion dollars this year and employs over 200,000 people in the country.

Say it with flowers, as the saying goes. These colourful but small plants offer hope and calm, of better things to come. They add beauty to our cities, help ease unemployment and fetch foreign currency. The more of them there are, perhaps, the better things may turn out to be.

New Draft Criminal Procedure Code Must Answer on Addis Abeba’s Right

Posted on by Web Master

Addis Abeba is one of the two semi-autonomous city administrations in Ethiopia. Founded in 1896 during Emperor Menelik II’s reign, it has served as the seat of Ethiopia’s successive regimes. The capital has played a pivotal role in the country’s socioeconomic and developmental aspirations. It has evolved into a centre of the modernisation, urbanisation and “nation-building” political projects that have been pursued. Rapidly growing, it accounts for a quarter of the country’s urban population, according to the World Bank.

The process of its formation and its rapid expansion has not been without political tensions. Ethiopia’s current federal system, drawn along lingo-cultural lines, has not addressed these challenges. It has even introduced provisions in the Constitution that have raised questions. This is due to the ambiguous statement regarding the relationship between Addis Abeba and Oromia Regional State.

“The special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Abeba, regarding the provision of social services or the utilisation of natural resources and other similar matters, as well as joint administrative matters arising from the location of Addis Abeba within the State of Oromia, shall be respected,” it reads.

Currently, there are no detailed and separate laws promulgated to govern this relationship. As a result, political tensions have simmered over historical rights, the city’s expansion, and city residents as well as farmers’ rights.

Matters have not been helped by a lack of representation in the upper legislature, the House of Federation, by residents of the city that do not subscribe to a single ethnic group (although this also applies to anyone that may not identify with any group across the country). While listing the members of the federation, the Constitution also does not mention Addis Abeba as one of the constituent units despite the fact that it is allowed to represent itself in parliament. This gives it a precarious status under the current Constitution.

The new draft Criminal Procedure & and Evidence Law may further exacerbate matters. This is mainly as Addis Abeba has a constitutional right to a full measure of self-government, and the responsibility of the Addis Abeba City Administration is to the federal government.

A legal provision in the draft law states that “offences committed in cities or places accountable to the Federal Government” are within federal courts’ jurisdiction. But there is an exception attached to it further down. “Notwithstanding” this provision, Oromia regional courts shall have criminal jurisdiction over offences committed against the state’s institutions, properties and documents situated in Addis Abeba.

This raises multiple questions, with political consequences, as a response to the “right to the city” debates. These are gaining importance, both as an analytical framework for examining how cities become the stage for citizenship struggles and as a political ideal around which to organise demands for greater democratic control over urban space. Authorising Oromia State Courts — against the non-interference principle between the members of the federation — to exercise judicial jurisdiction over crimes committed in Addis Abeba contradicts the founding principle of the Ethiopian federalism arrangement.

It is also surprising why the draft singled out only Addis Abeba, while Dire Dawa (another self-administered city) is also de facto accountable to the federal government. It is not specified in the Constitution that Dire Dawa has the status of self-government.

The Ethiopian Constitution recognises and assigns powers and functions between the federal government and the member states. Under “Powers and Functions of States,” members of the federation are granted, among other things, to maintain public order and peace only within their respective state jurisdiction. But against this very constitutional premise, the draft empowers courts in the Oromia region to have criminal jurisdiction over offences committed against the state’s resources and institutions situated in Addis Abeba.

Of course, the Constitution allows the federal government to delegate its powers to the states. Still, this right cannot be used as a pretext to promote a single regional state’s interest over other self-administered entities.

Primarily, the assumption of delegation is not to the extent that it gives exclusive rights to certain regional states while violating other self-governing entities’ rights. The draft law would have applied to crimes against institutions, properties and documents of “any” regional state in Addis Abeba. Courts of any of the regional states against whose “institutions, properties and documents” crimes have been committed should have jurisdiction. In the current state, while the Constitution gives equal status to all members of the federation, the draft law not only calls into question Addis Abeba’s right to decide its affairs without intervention but also unequally treats other regional governments.

There are also unanswered questions that the draft code does not address: Are not the federal and Addis Abeba courts neutral and efficient enough to handle cases related to Oromia regional institutions in the capital in the eyes of the draft code? Whose jurisdiction is it if an individual commits a crime against both Oromia and non-Oromia institutions simultaneously in the capital?

The draft code does not say.

If the draft law passes as it is, its constitutionality may be questioned at the House of Federation, which is empowered to interpret the supreme law of the land. This can also present problems given that it is a body representing the various ethnic groups of the country according to their population sizes. Given sentiments in Addis Abeba against political organisation along lingo-cultural lines, the House of Federation may not be the right institution to decide genuinely over it.

As a result, the draft law should not be passed by parliament over questions of unconstitutionality. Since the Constitution has imposed a duty on all citizens, organs of state, political organisations, and officials to ensure its observance, lawmakers should reject the provision that empowers courts in Oromia Regional State to have certain jurisdictions in Addis Abeba as it threatens the right of self-governance given to it.

Conflict Zones Require Assertive, Coordinated Health Services Response

Posted on by Web Master

Around the world, there are wars taking place within countries that lead to displacement and violence. Ethiopia is no different, unfortunately, with a worrying armed conflict in Tigray Regional State that started in November 2020.

There should be no doubt. Conflict affects all parts of a country, particularly in terms of growth and development, mainly if it is protracted. Moreover, they profoundly impact people that are not active combatants, especially the vulnerable. Wars destroy complex socioeconomic infrastructure and arrangements, including those related to health.

It vividly generates tension between the needs and availability of social protection. It is such areas that are in dire need of humanitarian coverage and access for the vulnerable. It is also the case that these parts are likely to lag behind and get a decreased accessibility to coverage.

During times of armed conflict, countries are generally unable or unwilling to provide adequate health services to their population – in the latter case, it is usually the fear that such services might be abused. In such situations, the public should find the courage in its convictions to denounce attacks on health and health-related infrastructure and lack of access to aid services, whoever might be the culprit.

It is critical to speak out loud and clear that shortages in medical supplies, health personnel and a health workforce could have devastating impacts upon the vulnerable and could only worsen the situation. When citizens cannot access health services due to increased insecurity, or legal and administrative barriers, the health concern will only grow in severity and its long-term consequences. It means the health workforce, nursing homes, pharmacies, community clinics and emergency care services are closed, with little alternative avenues for desperate people with a health emergency.

Due to insecurity and instability, travelling to and from health facilities can be difficult and dangerous. This much is understandable. But creating safe access by both sides of the fighting for such critical services to pass through should not be at all debatable.

The problem, of course, only improves to a degree when there is indeed access to humanitarian and health services. There is a tendency to focus on emergencies, which should be, but there is also an under-prioritisation of sexual, reproductive health or mental issues. Unsustainable, short-term humanitarian interventions do not readily transition to longer-term development work. Health actors are also insufficiently made accountable to affected populations for their performance – chances of suing over medical malpractice are nil – and state-centric health frameworks in countries such as Ethiopia cannot meet the needs of the populace. This is especially true if the nation has a health system stretched by the demands of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Contemplating our country’s scenario, first and foremost, there should be federal government recognition of the overriding need for public health intervention and unfettered access to aid workers to address the problem. It should result in directing the federal government’s machinery in alleviating the health hardships of the populace in vulnerable regions.

Among others, the preparedness for disasters should be rationalised, following international laws and experience, to make it consistent and its constructive impacts long-lasting. There should be the management of pre-impact, impact, and post-impact analysis followed by recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Hence, there should be an implementation of context-specific health policies and interventions where key development actors participate in health clusters and coordinate among themselves. They should facilitate the exchange of comprehensive information with humanitarian health actors, including performance accountability and financial accountability. Nothing less should be expected when it comes to the unfolding situation in the country’s north.

Elections: Thin Red Line between Democracy, Violence

Posted on by Web Master

The way people are talking about the upcoming general election, which will be held on June, 2021, is troubling. Many have concluded that elections combined with the African political culture are more sources for violence than social cohesion.

There is some truth to this. Often, African elections are conducted on an uneven playing field, where the incumbents can take significant advantage of their position in power, especially in terms of access to the media. One reason discouraging many in our country is that some major opposition figures are currently in jail.

Still, elections are crucial rights of citizens. It offers them a voice by enabling them to select leaders and hold them accountable for their performance in office. Alas, these facts do not hold water for many who are in great fear of the violence the election may bring.

This is not helped by some political players. Instead of discussing policies, strategies and attempting to heal social wounds, parties are busy criticising each other over logos and slogans. The dominant public discourse and the language and terminology used by most political parties are associated with armed struggle. This has convinced many that elections in Africa are modern day battlegrounds. Ethiopia is no exception to this.

The dangers linked with electoral violence vary. On top of human, material and economic costs that such violence imposes on already impoverished nations, it also risks undermining the electoral legitimacy of the process. This stems from the weak political culture that exists, where opponents do not merely argue and compete to win hearts and minds. They actively try to discredit each other without telling us much about what they will do in office if elected.

Election seasons should instead be a cause for excitement since it is the most important institutional mechanism for distributing political power and a time for people’s voices to be heard. But the significance of this is compounded by people’s judgments about the willingness to vote, support for democracy and trust in governing institutions. Such things do not just come by but are reflections of everyday politics in a politically divided society.

Unhealthy competitive elections are by their nature the result of conflict due to the public’s divergent interests that go too deep as to create intolerance. Thus, there is always a risk that an electoral race will contribute to intensifying and polarising existing socioeconomic problems, provoking further divisions in society if ample care is not taken.

One key reason for electoral violence has to do with elections organised along exclusive political ideologies. It created structural conditions for political elites to utilise an electoral strategy based on narratives that exclude wide sections of the populations. It subverts and distorts the significance of multiparty democracy, where political groups disagree and engage with ideas. When they do so along the lines of identity, it becomes hard to hear one another.

In societies such as ours, where the structural conditions of elections create significant incentives for violence, the institutional and administrative arrangements for regulating the contest can play a vital role.

The electoral system has to influence the efficacy, transparency and political integrity of the elections, eliminating election fraud and manipulation, and creating voter and political parties’ trust over elections and its processes. This is just as much the job of democratic institutions such as the police and public media as it is the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). Another critical player is the court system, which can handle disputes fairly.

But in the absence of credible democratic institutions that adhere to the rule of law and prove their political independence, there is always the risk that the election would be ignored, its significance weakened, and the outcome not accepted by losing political contenders.

Political parties should indeed make it their campaign agenda to encourage voters to trust the electoral system, vote on polling day, and accept the results even if the party they support is not victorious. Indeed, this is an effort that should be preceded by those in political power proving to the public that their intention is for free and fair elections to take place.

Eden Sahle is founder and CEO of Yada Technology Plc. She has studied law with a focus on international economic law. She can be reached at edensah2000@gmail.com.

 

When Friends Fight, Duck

Posted on by Web Master

Sometimes two close friends get into a heated argument in front of us, and we are asked to step in and play the role of referee. This presents quite a dilemma. We do not want to side with the person that is at fault, because that would inevitably make the other one feel bad. At the same time, our consciousness tells us to be fair and tell the truth regardless of the outcome.

We try to make peace and not to take sides. But when one or both of the close friends are in our faces, insisting we declare who was wrong and tell the other person to realise their mistake, it puts us in a difficult place.

Truth is sometimes ugly, but it also depends on who is looking at it. For a person hearing it, there will undoubtedly be a pain. For whoever is telling the truth, then it is a relief. I found myself in this tight space, not knowing what to say to calm my two close friends.

They were both angry and felt betrayed by the other. They were being mean and saying stuff to hurt each other. One of them has always been paranoid and thinks everyone is out to get her. The other, while rational, has temper issues and cannot explain herself without either being angry or raising her voice.

“It ends today. I can’t keep this anymore,” said the one with the temper issues when I told her to walk away and keep the peace. “She had to know that she is wrong, and I do not like how she treats other people. Even though she is kind, her words are like a sword that cuts through and bleeds you.”

Meanwhile, the other one was in tears, shouting “How could you say that about me, especially after all the things I’ve done for you.”

She then opened a chapter from their past, which is rarely a good idea when the goal is to get along and defuse the tension. Things escalated afterwards. There were denials, insults and crying, and sometimes a pittance of apologies. The paranoid friend was too caught up in the fight to either accept an apology or let go. She kept going on and on like a broken record.

The bystander between these two friends was me, throwing around generalities like, “Do not say stuff you would later regret,” or “You don’t mean any of the things.”

It did not help. As in Ethiopia’s politics, each one was out to score an absolute victory. One of them finally said they had had enough and that after this, they are no longer friends. Both of them also made it clear that my diplomacy was unhelpful.

Thus, after freezing for a few minutes, I decided to bite the bullet and tell the truth. With a mellow voice, I told one of them that while I did not want to take sides, her assertions were incorrect. I phrased it as delicately as possible. To the other one, I insisted that her words were indeed harmful and insensitive.

They did not agree, but at least both of them were quiet, contemplating their words. One of them left while the other continued voicing unpleasant things. By that point, I was just fed up.

What if I spoke then and said what I felt? Would she hate me or never talk to me again? Are her feelings going to get hurt? What would the other friend say when she learns that I did not defend her?

Thoughts after thoughts, but nothing came out of my mouth. I hated not being able to pass fair judgment, scared of telling the truth. But my lips were sealed, and I could not say anything. I felt weak.

How many of us find ourselves in this position?

We are left in the position of bystanders, afraid to speak out either because we are worried that we will make matters worse or unconvinced that anything we do can help.

FORWARDER, AGENTS CHALLENGES

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Elizabeth Getahun, president of the Ethiopian Freight Forwarders & Shipping Agents Association, speaks at a panel discussion on challenges and opportunities for Ethiopian businesses at the Skylight Hotel on February 25, 2021. With Getachew Regassa, secretary-general of the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Association, moderating, the 23-year-old Agents Association, which has recently presented its five-year programme, has grappled with a logistics industry that ranks 126 out of 160 countries, according to the World Bank.

WEDDING STUNTS

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Sometimes, even taping a wedding ceremony could be a death-defying stunt. Peaking through the window of a minibus, a cameraman shoots a wedding procession as a Mercedes-Benz carrying the groom and bride drives through the streets of Addis Abeba. The wedding entourage follows from behind.

VALUE IN DEBRIS

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Mesqel Square is seeing a 2.5 billion Br rehabilitation and parking lot construction project. This has meant that a great deal of debris can be found in the area, which some people forage through looking for anything that could have value and be sold. This is especially true of metal objects which youth can be seen searching for with diligence.