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Author: Web Master

Ditching Carbon Pricing Reckless Bet with the Planet

Posted on by Web Master

In 2009, US President Barack Obama appointed Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein to serve as the administrator of the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Sunstein was the co-author, with the Nobel laureate economist Richard Thaler, of “Nudge”, a widely acclaimed bestseller showing that small changes in how choices are put to people increase the likelihood that they will make healthy, prudent, or socially beneficial choices.

Under Sunstein’s leadership, OIRA sought to change government regulations in ways that would acknowledge the reality of global warming and seek to minimise the harm it would cause. To make these changes consistent across the government, it was essential to assess policies affecting greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, for example, closing coal-fired power stations, or subsidising electric cars, based on an agreed price for a ton of carbon. Only then could the social cost of GHG emissions be reflected in assessments of the costs and benefits of regulations.

Once a price is put on carbon, other emissions that contribute to climate change, like methane, can be priced in terms of their equivalent impact. That is why Sunstein has called the price of carbon “the most important number you have never heard of.”

Before Obama came to the White House, no US government had ever tried to put a price on carbon. To determine what that price should be is no easy task. It requires complex estimates of the effect of GHG emissions on average temperatures, extreme weather events, changes in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and many other factors on which the livability of our planet depends. When that is done, one needs to put a price on the impact of these changes on the well-being of those whose interests the US was willing to consider.

The first of these tasks, estimating the physical effects of GHG emissions, was for scientists, who had models for calculating the answers. The second task, determining the impact of these effects on well-being, is not only a matter of economic calculation. It also raised a crucial ethical question.

Is the US willing to consider the well-being of those who live outside its borders, and of those yet to be born?

The Obama Administration priced a ton of carbon at 42 dollars. That was cut to five dollars during President Donald Trump’s first term, and under Joe Biden, it jumped to 190 dollars. One can debate what the price should be, but it cannot be seriously questioned that CO2 emissions do have a cost, even if we consider only the costs to US residents. Unless the US sets that price centrally, policies issued by different departments and agencies will lack coherence, incurring unnecessary expense in reducing emissions which could have been reduced more cheaply by policies issued by a different department.

Notwithstanding the facts and logic behind putting a price on carbon, last month Jeffrey B. Clark, the acting administrator of OIRA, issued a memo stating: “[I]t is no longer federal government policy to maintain a uniform estimate of the monetised impacts of greenhouse gas emissions.” Clark’s memo referred to “supposed changes in the climate,” as if there were still doubts about whether the climate is changing, and also to doubts about whether human GHG emissions are contributing to those changes.

Even if it is still possible to harbour doubts about the role of human emissions in global warming, to act on those doubts is to ignore the views of the vast majority of climate scientists, as expressed in the thoroughly referenced reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Clark and the President he serves are gambling with the future of our planet.

After Sunstein left his position in the Obama administration, he continued to think about the ethical questions raised by climate change. His thoughts on that topic have now been published in “Climate Justice: What Rich Nations Owe the World – and the Future”. Sunstein has compared the timing, three weeks after Trump’s second inauguration, to publishing a book about folk music the week after Bob Dylan went electric.

On the key question of whose interests the US should consider when calculating the cost of carbon, Sunstein defends the view that he says is in accordance with both the utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill and the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth: The US should set a carbon price that reflects, as closely as possible, the net costs emissions impose on everyone they affect or will affect, now and in the future. Sunstein argues that justice requires wealthy countries to compensate the poor for the harm caused by climate change.

In addition to those moral claims, however, Sunstein insists that it is in our own strategic interests to care for others: “If the world is to solve the climate problem, each country needs to consider the interests of people who live in other countries.”

I believe Sunstein’s moral arguments are completely sound. Yet, to seek to implement them fully and immediately would, in many affluent countries, open a path to power for populist politicians who deny either the science or the moral arguments. Until that changes, it may be a sound strategy for politicians to make the case for reducing emissions on the basis of the damage that climate change is already doing to their citizens, and the more severe damage it is likely to bring in the future.

Healing Rivers Spurs City to Bend Growth Around Its Restored Spine

Posted on by Web Master

Over the course of several months of regular site visits, I have watched Addis Abeba’s rivers transform from refuse-choked channels to polished corridors of urban life. The transformation, driven by the Addis Abeba River & Riverside Project, is altering the city’s look and its sense of possibility. On walks with visiting dignitaries, I have pointed to new stone paths, young saplings and cleaned waterways. This is how the capital plans to grow: green, inclusive and people-centred.

The scheme, with an unprecedented commitment from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), steered by Mayor Adanech Abiebie and team, is no ordinary beautification push. It is a wholesale effort at restoration, equity and sustainability that threads through two major rivers and more than 70 smaller streams. Where mud, trash and toxic runoff once pooled, crews now lay tree-lined boulevards, pedestrian and bike lanes, pocket parks and cultural spaces. Each section is meant to function, not merely impress. To connect neighbourhoods, it draws fresh air into crowded quarters and reminds residents that rivers are public, not dumps.

The work, spread across dozens of construction fronts, demands constant coordination among engineers, horticulturists and residents.

Addis Abeba confronts the same compounding pressures that crowd many African capitals  rapid population growth, rising pollution and climate stress  but the riverside project chooses bold action over incremental fixes. In its sweep and speed, it is one of the most visionary initiatives the city has undertaken, reshaping not only concrete and soil but the narrative of what an African metropolis can be.

The change is already visible. Families push strollers across new footbridges. Teenagers idle along the bike paths. Street vendors, once shoved to littered shoulders, trade in tidy stalls that speak of dignity as much as commerce. The smell that once clung to the water, a mix of equal parts sewage and smoke, has thinned. In its place come the scents of fresh soil and newly laid grass. Long-time residents tell me that it is more than development. For them, the project represents dignity, ownership, and pride.

Environmental dividends sit behind the aesthetics. Cleaner rivers mean fewer waterborne illnesses, less flooding in the rainy season and revived urban ecosystems. Reforestation is central. Planners are removing invasive or dying trees and replacing them with resilient indigenous species, targeting to sequester carbon, provide shade for walkways, and expand the country’s Green Legacy program. By swapping brittle exotics for deep-rooted natives, the city seeks an ecological balance that will last long after the ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

The project also draws on Ethiopia’s store of indigenous knowledge. Engineers adapted the Konso people’s centuries-old terracing methods to steady riverbanks and slow erosion. Local communities join the crews, merging traditional practices with modern machinery and lending the effort a stamp of ownership rather than a top-down decree.

Numbers give the push a wider context. According to the United Nations, more than 60pc of Africa’s population will live in cities by 2050. Many of those cities now struggle with the very problems Addis Abeba is trying to overcome: overcrowding, polluted waterways, scarce public space, and rising climate risks. By attacking its rivers first, Addis Abeba offers a template other municipalities can study, a message that rehabilitation can start with the neglected terrain that cuts through a city’s heart.

Each time I guide foreign guests  conference delegates, investors, ambassadors  they notice the difference quickly. Walking the refurbished embankments, they photograph children racing scooters where refuse once drifted and note how the new parks knit together communities previously sliced by murky channels. Several have told me they intend to pitch similar schemes back home, evidence that the project’s influence is already leaping borders.

The road here was hardly smooth. Before the first shovel turned, the banks served as dumps, open toilets and sporadic shelters. Floods carried waste downstream, spreading disease and dampening property values. Sceptics argued that any cleanup would be swallowed by fresh trash inside a year. Instead, steady work crews, strict waste rules and clear political cover have shifted the odds. The riverside today offers a cleaner breeze and a safer footing than many thought possible.

What stands out most is how the effort seamlessly combines civic pride with practical benefits. Addis Abeba is not only constructing promenades; it is testing whether African cities can leap over the mistakes of older metropolises, channelling rivers in concrete, only to return later at a steeper cost to patch the damage. Here, the bet runs the other way. Heal the river first, and the city’s growth will curve around the restored spine.

I hold an unwavering conviction that the project can reshape not only Addis Abeba but urban Africa more broadly. The initiative builds more than infrastructure; it nurtures trust, belonging and a belief that city life can be both modern and natural. It proves that rivers once treated as hazards can become the arteries of civic revival. They can indeed be places where children play, businesses thrive, and ecosystems rebound.

Let Addis Abeba stand as a reminder that Africa’s cities can rise, and rise green, healthy, sustainable and inclusive.

Banks Stand Still While Currency Pressures Do the Running

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The foreign exchange market moved little in the six trading days last week, but the calm surface concealed a handful of ripples. Across the banking industry, the average buying rate for the Dollar settled at 132.91 Br, while the average selling rate edged to 135.52 Br. Most banks stood pat, their quotes barely changing.
Yet, several — some state-backed, others privately run — quietly shifted course, signalling different balance-sheet pressures and policy goals.
The market was divided loosely into two camps.
The first is a cluster of private banks — Awash, Wegagen, Dashen, and Abyssinia — that rarely stray far from the mean. Awash and Wegagen banks held steady for most of the week, then allowed a gentle appreciation after June 26, a routine housekeeping move rather than a directional bet.
Dashen Bank began the week the same way but jolted the pack on Saturday, lifting its buying rate from roughly 131.8746 Br a week before to 133.62 Br, a leap of more than 1.7 Br. The change, the sharpest by any commercial bank, revealed either sudden liquidity needs or an opportunistic play ahead of the National Bank of Ethiopia’s (NBE) next forex auction.
Abyssinia Bank, by contrast, acted like a fixed-income security. Its buying rate held at precisely 132.98 Br all week, the clearest sign that management saw no advantage in tinkering.
The second camp was a mixed bag. The giant state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), the de facto policy-setting central bank, and the ambitious Oromia Bank behaved anything but synchronised. CBE posted the lowest rates on both sides of the market for six straight days. It bought dollars at 131.5 Br and sold at 134.13 Br, refusing to budge even as peers inched higher. The position signals a tacit coordination with regulators intent on damping demand.
Oromia Bank went the other way, dangling the market’s most generous offers in what looked like a bid to lure remittances. By Saturday, its buying rate reached 135.82 Br and its selling rate 138.53 Br, comfortably above the industry averages.
Between those bookends lay the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), whose movements were modest but meaningful. The Central Bank’s spread was a rare flat “0.00 percent” on June 23 and 24, widened the next day to 0.04pc, and crept to 0.29pc by week’s end. Small as they are, the changes hinted at policy testing, perhaps a trial run before broader regulatory relaxation.
The underlying numbers tell the same story. The NBE’s buying rate rose from 134.96 Br to 135.29 Br, paced enough to stay above the commercial average yet below Oromia Bank’s top-end quotes.
Statistically, the week produced the narrowest band of variation seen this quarter; however, several banks still printed values that were more than two standard deviations from the daily mean. Analysts flagged those prints as signals of either internal liquidity swings or policy-driven tweaks.
The highest buying-rate volatility came from the NBE itself, Bank of Abyssinia, and Dashen Bank, with Oromia and Amhara banks not far behind. CBE, Cooperative Bank of Oromia (Coop Bank), and Siinqee Bank camped at the opposite extreme; their rates were nearly frozen, a stringency that pointed to benchmark-tethered pricing or a shortage of spare dollars.
All banks respected the two-percent cap on spreads, a regulatory guardrail meant to limit speculative quoting. However, within that buffer, the tone differed sharply. Several private banks, but Wegagen, traded below the industry average, revealing that they are courting retail customers while scanning the horizon for incremental gains. Other banks, such as the CBE, mirrored policy priorities.
CBE’s rock-bottom rates displayed a defensive crouch. Oromia Bank’s highest quotes for several weeks now implied a hunt for fresh inflows. The NBE straddled both roles, setting an example while gathering data on how the market absorbs even tiny policy shifts.
By Saturday, the industry average buying rate had nudged higher, shaped mainly by Oromia Bank’s aggressive posturing and the Central Bank’s small upward steps. Yet, the selling average barely moved, a fact that speaks to banks’ reluctance to widen spreads beyond the allowed two percent.
Volatility metrics back up the visual calm. Daily price ranges were the tightest since early April, and cross-bank dispersion remained low, except for the noted outliers. Even Dashen’s late-week jolt added only a fractional bump to the systemwide standard deviation. Still, that single move served as a reminder that balance-sheet pressures can force action at any moment.
Last week’s snapshot tells a tale of caution and calculated deviation. Most banks, especially Awash, Abyssinia, Wegagen, and Nib, chose to watch and wait. A few, such as Oromia Bank, Dashen Bank, and the NBE, tested the boundaries. And one, the CBE, dug in behind rates that sit well below the market.
The currency market remains under strong regulatory guidance, even as the government negotiates reforms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current tranquillity could be a coiled spring where, once external aid, debt-relief talks, or broader reforms clear the way, banks that have stayed near static may scramble to reprice.
Until then, the twin pillars of tight dollar supply and regulatory spread ceilings keep competition muted.

The Delicate Art of Natural-Resource Diplomacy

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Resource competition has long underpinned international relations. But it seems to be retaking centre stage, much like the 19th-century Scramble for Africa or Western grabs for Middle Eastern oil in the last century.

As demand rises for the critical minerals that power the industries of the future, many countries are rushing to gain an edge. The United States (US) recently struck a high-profile minerals deal with Ukraine, which, for its part, wants to prevent a further haemorrhaging of US support for its war with Russia. US President Donald Trump has also talked of acquiring Greenland partly because of its potential mineral wealth, while his administration is negotiating deals with other mineral-rich countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Natural resources are increasingly being wielded as a foreign-policy weapon. In 2022, after Europe sanctioned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin scaled back gas exports to the continent. And in the past few months, China has restricted exports of rare-earth elements as part of its trade war with the US, while India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty, a water-sharing agreement with Pakistan, following an attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir. And the conflict between Israel and Iran has raised concerns among Israel’s Western allies that Iran could disrupt shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.

Controls of oil and gas flows have long shaped geopolitics, but critical minerals have lately taken on new importance because escalating geopolitical tensions are accelerating efforts to bolster defence capabilities and shifting the AI race into high gear, all while the global clean-energy transition continues apace. Constructing new missiles, data centres, and electricity grids requires enormous amounts of metals and minerals, such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and nickel. In an increasingly divided world where China dominates the refining and processing of many of these critical minerals, many countries understandably fear losing access to them.

Looking ahead, climate change seems certain to intensify disputes over resources, particularly water and food supplies. For example, if shifting weather patterns further reduce arable land in vulnerable regions, affected countries may act assertively to protect grain-export routes or to maintain access to international riparian systems. But it makes little sense for countries to adopt a muscular, take-no-prisoners approach to resource diplomacy. History has shown that success requires thoughtful, patient, and tempered tactics.

To begin with, resource diplomacy requires careful, long-term planning. China’s critical-mineral domination was not achieved overnight; it is the result of strategic foresight. Decades ago, the Chinese government adopted a forward-looking industrial policy and began investing in mining projects abroad and forging alliances with resource-rich countries. By contrast, many Western governments, having only recently woken up to the dangers of dependency on other countries for critical minerals, have made little headway in securing their own supply chains for these raw materials, despite introducing multiple initiatives to achieve this goal.

European governments were similarly shortsighted when they allowed themselves to become dependent on Russian gas in the years prior to the Ukraine war. As the continent learned in 2022, scrambling to diversify suppliers during or after a crisis can be highly costly and disruptive.

Countries should focus less on concluding impressive-sounding deals, and more on getting the boring details right. Understanding the technical and economic aspects of resource extraction and processing will determine whether these agreements achieve their long-term aims.

For example, mining executives have criticised the US-Ukraine resources deal for exaggerating the value of the country’s critical minerals and the potential for attracting private investment to exploit them. Likewise, US officials may be overestimating the commercial viability of the minerals under Greenland’s ice. In both cases, while Trump’s manoeuvres have certainly garnered attention, they may do little to strengthen US mineral security.

Of course, countries should not exert too much control over others’ resources, at least not without ensuring significant local benefits. Otherwise, they risk generating resentment and fueling a backlash.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Western oil firms were booted out of much of the Middle East because host governments felt they were getting too little in return. Today, Western mining firms are being squeezed in some parts of Africa and Latin America, owing to similar local perceptions. While Chinese mining firms have gained ground in Africa by portraying themselves as more supportive of local development, they, too, are sometimes tarred with the same brush of neo-colonialism. Securing resources without sowing suspicion is easier said than done.

Finally, resource-rich countries should recognise that weaponising their exports may backfire: importers may shift away from the relevant commodity or retaliate in other ways. A striking historical example is the 1973 Arab oil embargo. While this delivered the intended short-term result – inflicting economic pain on Western countries – it also impelled those countries to develop new oil fields outside the Arab world, such as in Alaska and the North Sea.

In the same vein, Russia’s decision to cut gas flows to Europe caused initial pain, but ended up devastating a once-lucrative export market, which has now secured alternative energy supplies. And more countries are at risk of making the same mistake. India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty has raised fears that China, Pakistan’s ally, may weaponise the waterways under its control that flow to India. Likewise, in tightening global exports of its rare earths, China risks accelerating moves to open up rare-earth mining and processing facilities elsewhere in the world.

When it comes to securing access to natural resources or using them as geopolitical tools, headline-grabbing moves rarely produce the desired outcome, especially over the long term. Instead, effective resource diplomacy requires sensitivity, expertise, foresight, and balance – qualities that, unfortunately, are not prevalent among today’s political leaders.

Africa’s Debt Is an Opportunity

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Almost every debate about African public finance centres on “Africa’s debt burden” as its primary topic. The numbers are stark: the median African country now carries debt worth 60pc of GDP, double the ratio of 15 years ago. It devotes twice as much of every tax dollar to interest payments as it did in the early 2010s.

Twenty governments are already in, or on the brink of, debt distress. Ethiopia is one of four countries that have sought to restructure their debt under the G20 Common Framework. Against such a bleak backdrop, it is tempting to conclude that borrowing itself is the problem. That would be a costly mistake.

During my two decades as Ethiopia’s Finance Minister, I learned that debt is neither a panacea nor a curse; it is a lever. Pull it carelessly, and it can trap a country in perpetual repair. Pull it wisely and it raises growth, jobs and future tax revenue. But only if we treat credit as productive capital, protect investment when shocks strike, and mobilise domestic revenue to pay the bill.

Half of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies this year are from Africa. A trend that has held for over a decade, it has been fuelled by investment, much of it private, but enabled by public spending on roads, energy, health and education. None of it would be possible if governments could not borrow. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) rule of thumb is that every dollar a government spends on capital projects produces roughly twice the long-term economic boost of a dollar spent on day-to-day consumption.

That is why I am more concerned about those who cannot access credit, rather than those who do. This includes entrepreneurs who cannot invest in their businesses, farmers who cannot borrow to invest in their farms, and governments who cannot make the capital investments needed for growth.

The real danger lies at the other extreme of borrowing for the wrong reasons or on the wrong terms.

Africa’s creditor mix has widened far beyond the old Paris Club. Bilateral loans from new governments and private creditors on commercial terms now sit alongside traditional concessional loans. While governments generally welcome this diversity – it lowers dependency on any single lender – it also complicates restructuring when trouble hits, as some governments have lately discovered. The cure is not to shut the credit window; it is to understand risks better and keep the bulk of borrowing pointed at capital investment over consumption.

Even the best investment plans collide with crises. In my tenure, I had to walk this tightrope and cut Ethiopia’s capital investment budget – once after the 2008 global financial crash and again in response to droughts. Across the continent, climate-related disasters now threaten to repeat that pattern. We lose seven billion to 15  billion dollars every year due to climate change. Losses are projected to escalate to 50 billion dollars by 2040.

Relying on ex-post relief – shifting funds from long-term projects after every flood or drought – is the fiscal equivalent of eating seed corn. Yet, less than two percent of international crisis financing is pre-arranged  and government relief is typically no better, mostly mobilised only once a crisis is in full swing. Governments need pre-arranged financing: disaster funds, contingent credit lines from development banks, insurance for public assets and effective social protection systems.

When capital budgets are ring-fenced, the growth engine can continue to operate even while the country focuses on fighting the fire in front of it.

The Ethiopian parliament is currently operationalising a new Disaster Risk Management Financing Strategy. At its core sits a new Disaster Risk Response Fund, which aims to pay for disasters partly through domestic resource mobilisation. Ethiopia’s 10-year developmental plan vows to almost double the tax-to-GDP ratio, from 9.2pc today to 18.2pc by 2030. (The median African government collects 14pc of GDP in tax, seven points below the average in advanced economies and two points below other emerging economies.) Robust tax systems are not merely about money; they anchor accountability and reduce dependence on external creditors.

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and there are risks associated with accumulating too much debt. But we should only borrow to invest in growth, and we should increase resource mobilisation. Credit is how countries – and companies and families – bring future earnings into the present to finance progress.

Africa’s challenge is not to avoid borrowing; it is to borrow for growth, protect that growth from shocks, and pay the bill with a stronger domestic tax effort. The task before policymakers, insurers and investors is to turn today’s debate on debt from a tale of woe into an opportunity.

A “Talking Gorilla” Walks into Mercato

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A couple of evenings ago, TikTok served up a scene that felt equal parts circus and science fiction. An Amharic-speaking Gorilla character strolling through Merkato, waving at fruit vendors, cracking jokes and locking eyes with the camera in a way that seemed unnervingly human. A few swipes later came an “anchorwoman” with immaculate diction, flawless posture and the faintest hint of the uncanny, delivering breaking news from the same open-air market. Neither creature ever existed.

Both videos were churned out by the latest text-to-video engines  Google’s Veo 3 and OpenAI’s Sora  systems able to spin photorealistic images, motion and native-sounding audio from a handful of words. Today, the clips these platforms generate draw laughs; tomorrow, they could fool an electorate.

For generations, video was treated as proof. Deepfakes exploit that reflex. Researchers now say that even tech-savvy viewers struggle to distinguish between real and fake, and the tools are becoming increasingly simpler. What once required a studio now sits in a teenager’s phone. The next question is not whether these systems will be misused, but how much damage they will cause.

Social media already has a well-documented record of amplifying rumours in Ethiopia. Unverified posts on Facebook and Telegram have stoked ethnic tensions and political unrest. A recent Internews survey found more than 80pc of users from Ethiopia rely on such platforms for news. Synthetic clips that are ultrarealistic, quick to share and hard to trace are sliding into that stream. The result is a fracture in basic consensus. When everything looks plausible, nothing feels certain.

Historian Timothy Snyder warns that “when nothing is believable, anything is.” Deepfakes widen that void and hand bad actors a precision tool for chaos. The threat is not confined to politics. One of the ugliest applications of AI video is non-consensual pornography. A wave of fabricated nude images featuring international celebrities has shown how quickly these forgeries spread.

Closer to home, a well-known Ethiopian activist recently found a bogus, explicit video of herself circulating online. The fallout  shame, harassment, reputational damage, and even threats of violence  arrived instantly. Mental health trauma follows such attacks, and recovery is slow. For women in politics, activism, or media, the mere possibility of becoming a target can encourage self-censorship. When visibility turns into vulnerability, democracy itself suffers.

Global watchdogs are sounding the alarm, including the World Economic Forum (WEF), which ranked “AI-generated misinformation and disinformation” the second-most likely global risk. Deepfake clips of candidates have surfaced in campaigns from Taiwan to India. The Munich Security Conference called synthetic media a frictionless path to forgery.

Where the legal code offers only sparse language on digital disinformation, and trust in state institutions is fragile after years of conflict, such as in Ethiopia, they are especially vulnerable. The country’s rapid online expansion compounds the risk. As of 2023, only 17pc of Ethiopians enjoyed regular internet access, yet millions more are coming online each year. Many novices are unfamiliar with privacy settings, data sharing, and verification techniques. The gap between access and understanding is an epistemic minefield.

Unlike digitally mature societies that crawled through the dial-up era, learned to doubt suspicious download links and watched Photoshop hoaxes evolve, Ethiopia is leaping straight into an internet shaped by algorithms and generative AI. New users, parachuted into that virtual world, are prone to accept what they see. This should be more alarming, especially when the message arrives in fluent Amharic, wrapped in familiar gestures and trusted formats.

Cheap processing power means a basic smartphone can now crank out believable fakes in minutes. As hardware barriers fall, the volume of synthetic material will skyrocket. The supply of doubt may not keep pace with demand.

The consequences appear in comment threads. Some viewers questioned the gorilla’s authenticity, while many accepted it outright. Ask anyone teaching an older relative to navigate social media. Confusion and conspiracy theories spread faster than software updates.

Economists and creators often frame the AI debate around jobs. A 2023 global poll found 54.6pc of artists fear that generative tools will cut their income. Such concerns echo earlier panics, such as film versus radio and television versus cinema. Markets adjust. The more profound crisis is epistemic, not economic. Machines are eroding the shared sense of what is true.

The talking gorilla may seem amusing. The AI-generated news anchor may seem like a harmless novelty. But each instance marks a data point in an emerging media ecosystem where truth is no longer discovered, but constructed, and increasingly, constructed by machines.

So far, remedies lag behind the threat. Fact-checking desks struggle to keep up with the volume of new content and the diversity of local dialects. Platform labels  “synthetic or manipulated media”  tend to appear hours after a clip has gone viral. Detection algorithms face an arms race they may never win, as each breakthrough in forgery spawns a counter breakthrough in disguise.

Education could offer a partial shield. Studies show that viewers warned in advance that a video might be fake slow down and doubt what they see. Digital-literacy programs in schools, community centres and even church gatherings could help new users build a healthy scepticism. Local-language guides to privacy, verification, and reverse-image searches would add friction to the forger’s business model.

Soaring Taxes Fail to Plug Holes as Audit Reveals Enduring Waste

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Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names, and with a reputation for her clear voice and sharper pencil. Last week, she published her latest verdict on the federal government’s finances, covering 115 of the 182 institutions, which secured clean audit reports this year, up from 73 in 2014.

However, beneath the tidier surface, Meseret still found grime. A stubborn 85.8pc of the irregularities flagged in earlier audits, worth 17.6 billion Br, remain unresolved. The pile of errors reveals how slowly the machinery of the state addresses its own leaks.

Her team combed through the books of 169 agencies and 51 branch offices while compiling the 2024/25 review of the 1.9 trillion Br budget. Customs duties unpaid to the treasury add up to 2.39 billion Br; income-tax arrears come to another 1.23 billion Br. Money that ought to have built schools and clinics instead gathers dust in private pockets.

The losses expose the federal government’s bigger problem. It tries to fund Scandinavian-sized ambitions with African-style tax collection.

A five-year dataset beginning in 2022 lays bare the mismatch. In 2022/23, the federal government ran a deficit of 219.47 billion Br, equal to 39.1pc of total spending. In the budget bill before Parliament, the hole would widen to 817.19 billion Br, or 42.4pc. In between, shortfalls even topped the halfway mark.

Borrowing has papered over the gap, but such an appetite for debt has proven to be difficult to satisfy. A bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has tightened the pipeline for Ahmed Shedie, minister of Finance, to rely on Mamo Mehiretu, governor of the Central Bank, for domestic borrowing to cover the fiscal deficit.

Under pressure from lenders and the dictates of arithmetic, Ahmed now hopes to cover nearly four-fifths of the budget for the next fiscal year with taxes. The formal sector is expected to pick up the tab. Payroll workers, corporate entities, and consumers already battered by inflation will be burdened with handing over a further 1.5 trillion Br, a record haul, revised upward after collections exceeded forecasts.

They may wonder what they receive in return.

Finance Minister Ahmed and his deputies and budget pundits on King George VI St. argue the shift is worthwhile for it spares the printing presses that Governor Mamo could order, whose past generosity stoked inflation. External lenders, especially the IMF, cheer the new orthodoxy. Less money creation means slower price growth.

However, the cure has downsides. Instead of hidden inflation taxes everyone pays, deductions fall on firms and employees whose wages have not kept pace with living costs.

The mismatch between rising contributions and modest returns feeds public discontent. Sceptics could have a point arguing that while formal businesses and salaried citizens shoulder more of the bill, they do not see comparable gains in public goods or price stability. That disconnect, the Auditor General observes, erodes trust and weakens the economy’s ability to cope with shocks.

Much of the bounty never reaches public services. A supplementary appropriation steered 137 billion Br into debt servicing and 52 billion Br into recurrent costs, such as pay rises for civil servants. Motorists, farmers and low-income families see fewer benefits.

When Brent crude vaulted above 70 dollars a barrel because of Middle Eastern tensions, the government considered scrapping fuel subsidies that cushioned transport and food prices. Fertiliser support, vital to the two-thirds of Ethiopians who farm, also stands in the firing line. Abolishing aid at such a moment could make the already unbearable cost of living even heavier, shrinking purchasing power and shaking the economy.

Critics who dismiss subsidies as waste could have missed the point. Policymakers’ failure lies less in handing out help than in handing it to the wrong people. With better data, digital payments, and clear rules, the state could target support precisely and cheaply. That, Meseret hinted, is what sound auditing should enable.

Policymakers love to cite that Ethiopia has one of Africa’s lowest tax-to-GDP ratios. Formal firms and salary earners are easy prey; subsistence farmers and the sprawling informal economy rarely receive a visit from the collector. State-owned enterprises, which dominate telecoms, power, finance, and logistics, pay meagre dividends while accumulating chunky debts at home and abroad.

Still, the ledgers show what can be done.

Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, income-tax revenue more than tripled, from 95.2 billion to 310.5 billion Birr, while withholding tax quadrupled from 32 billion to 120 billion Br. The value-added tax (VAT) has soared from 85 billion Br to 280 billion Br and is now the largest single source of revenue for the state.

Corporate tax growth lagged, climbing from 55 billion Br to 195 billion Br, perhaps a sign that many companies remain out of business. Non-tax income limped from 45.5 billion Br to 100 billion Br. A murky category labelled “other revenues” jumped from 30 billion Br to 105 billion Br, a rise that alarms the Auditor General as much as it puzzles her.

Such patterns store up trouble. VAT and payroll levies track the economic cycle; in a downturn, they will sag. Weak corporate receipts hinted at an enterprise sector too stunted to share the load. Granted, there could also be widespread evasion. Dependence on loosely defined “other revenues” could hide fresh impropriety.

Recent reallocations have fattened payrolls while starving productive subsidies.

The political economy is delicate. Faced with donor pressure and domestic frustration, ministers attempt to appear prudent by harvesting easy taxes, paying creditors, and increasing bureaucrats’ salaries. But citizens endure the squeeze twice, once in payroll deductions and again at the market stall where prices keep climbing.

Trust erodes when sacrifices buy little relief.

More imaginative fixes can be on the shelf.

Plugging leaks and thrift could yield safer gains than squeezing the already compliant of the waged and the corporate.

Simple efficiency targets could have trimmed 192.77 billion Br from the current budget bills, approximately a quarter of its proposed deficit, without requiring new loans or taxes. Tighter procurement, culling redundant posts, and tracking the cost and progress of capital projects would do the trick.

Property-value levies, environmental charges, and property taxes would broaden the base. Dividends from better-managed SOEs and realistic fees for licences and regulation would supplement them. Digital tax filing could limit both error and bribery. Real-time auditing, using technology that already exists, would detect mischief before it escalates.

Meseret’s audit crusade should be far from over. By documenting in black and white the sums lost, wasted, or still unaccounted for, she exposes the rift between the soaring budget plans and their actual cash realities. Whether officials close that rift, or merely shift the burden again, will, in the long run, measure the value of her courage.

Fulfill Your Dream of Becoming Parents

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Approximately 1 in 6 couples are affected by infertility globally. Fertilization problems can arise from various causes related to men, women, or both partners. Assisted reproductive technologies have been helping couples achieve their dream of parenthood for years.

At Acıbadem IVF Center, we offer individualized treatment approaches, supported by an experienced team and advanced technologies, to help couples fulfill their dream of becoming parents. With approximately 10,000 IVF cycles performed annually, our fertility specialists, who have over 30 years of experience, develop customized treatment plans tailored to each couple’s unique conditions and needs, significantly enhancing the chances of success.

If you’d like to learn more, we encourage you to visit acibademinternational.com and share your condition with us through the contact form. Our expert team will contact you within a few hours.

Innovative Applications Boost IVF Success Rates

Every year, the number of couples seeking IVF treatment increases. Why? Factors like the rising age of marriage and delayed decisions to have children significantly contribute to this trend. Fortunately, advances in assisted reproductive technologies continue to meet couples’ expectations. Pre-implantation genetic testing enables the selection of genetically healthy embryos, while innovative approaches focus on improving the ovarian reserve in women. Additionally, advancements now enhance sperm count, concentration, and motility, offering new hope for male infertility. Today, assisted reproductive technologies are more effective than ever in helping couples achieve their dream of parenthood.

Acıbadem stands as an internationally recognized leader in reproductive medicine and infertility. With over 30 years of experience, we have been providing comprehensive assisted reproductive services to couples facing infertility challenges.

If you’d like to learn more, visit acibademinternational.com and share your condition with us through the contact form. Our expert team will reach out to you within a few hours.

Improving Sperm Count, Concentration, and Motility in Men with Infertility

Azoospermia, a condition characterized by the complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate, is a common cause of male infertility and affects approximately 5%–10% of infertile men. The primary treatment for azoospermia is Micro-TESE, a procedure that retrieves sperm directly from the testis under a microscope. However, some men still don’t yield sperm even after repeated Micro-TESE attempts. In such challenging situations, we offer testicular PRP therapy that might enhance sperm quality and quantity, increasing the likelihood of conceiving.

To investigate the effects of PRP on male infertility caused by azoospermia, published the first academic study in this field, achieving promising outcomes. Testicular PRP therapy was administered to 135 men included in the study, resulting in positive sperm retrieval rates of 27.5% in patients with one prior failed Micro-TESE procedure and 16.4% in those with two or more failed attempts.

This groundbreaking technique offers significant promise for enhancing IVF outcomes and boosting the chances of achieving successful conception.

Promising Results in Enhancing Ovarian Reserve and Egg Quality

A woman’s ovarian reserve and egg quality play a crucial role in achieving successful fertilization, embryo development, and pregnancy. If these parameters are compromised, pregnancy may not be achievable, even through IVF. In such challenging cases, Acıbadem offers innovative solutions to enhance egg quality and quantity, increasing the chances of conception.

PRP is a promising method for enhancing ovarian reserve and egg quality by stimulating the ovaries and potentially increasing the chances of pregnancy. Professor Bülent Tıraş, Head of the Acıbadem Maslak Hospital IVF Clinic, highlights the encouraging results of this procedure. For women who received PRP therapy, when ovarian reserve parameters were analyzed, a statistically significant increase in AFC and AMH, as well as a decrease in serum FSH, were observed, which indicate favorable responses. He states, “We conducted a comprehensive study involving 510 women experiencing poor ovarian response with an average age of 40.3. Following the PRP and IVF procedures, we achieved a 20% pregnancy rate. These findings highlight the potential benefits of PRP in enhancing fertility treatments, especially for women facing specific challenges in conception.”

If you’d like to learn more, visit acibademinternational.com and share your condition with us through the contact form. Our expert team will contact you within a few hours.

The Impact of Experience on IVF Success Rates

The experience of physicians, embryologists, and nurses is one of the most significant factors in achieving higher success rates in IVF treatment. This is why a couple who has experienced failed IVF attempts at one clinic may achieve positive results at another clinic. It is crucial to identify the treatment modality that would be most beneficial for each patient, as the reasons for infertility can vary from case to case. Even when two patients share the same infertility cause, their treatment plans may differ. Individualized approaches are essential for every patient.

At Acıbadem IVF Center, where approximately 10,000 IVF cycles are performed annually, fertility specialists with over 30 years of experience develop customized treatment plans based on each couple’s individual conditions and needs, significantly improving the chances of IVF success.

If you’d like to learn more, we encourage you to visit acibademinternational.com and share your condition with us through the contact form. Our expert team will contact you within a few hours.

Technological Advances Boosting IVF Success Rates

In the field of reproductive medicine and fertility, significant advancements in laboratory techniques, technology, medications, surgical methods, and equipment have greatly improved overall IVF success rates. At Acıbadem, we not only apply these advancements but also work to explore new treatment modalities through scientific research to increase the chances of pregnancy for couples.

Offering a comprehensive range of services for fertility challenges, Acıbadem is home to highly regarded specialists in reproductive medicine. This reputation attracts couples from around the world who seek world-class care and innovative solutions.

If you’d like to learn more, visit acibademinternational.com and share your condition with us through the contact form. Our expert team will contact you within a few hours.

A Year of Wonders and Achievements for Acıbadem Türkiye

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Once again, Acıbadem Türkiye has made history with extraordinary medical breakthroughs and pioneering treatment methods. This remarkable year has seen milestones such as the successful treatment of a 67-year-old Parkinson’s patient and the completion of a highly complex separation surgery for conjoined twins joined at the chest. These and countless other achievements have solidified Acıbadem’s reputation as the trusted choice for solving some of the world’s most challenging medical cases.

Crowning this incredible year, Acıbadem Türkiye has been honored with the prestigious title of “Greatest Healthcare Exporter” for the 9th consecutive time, reaffirming its unparalleled leadership in global healthcare.

Crossing Borders, Connecting Patients Across the Globe

As one of the world’s leading international healthcare providers, Acıbadem continues to set the standard for excellence with 24 hospitals, 15 outpatient clinics, and a dedicated team of over 25,000 healthcare professionals. With a strong presence in Türkiye, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, and the Netherlands, Acıbadem’s state-of-the-art medical facilities are a beacon of hope for patients worldwide.

Beyond its regional footprint, Acıbadem operates over 60 representative offices across 56 cities in 33 countries, ensuring patients everywhere can access world-class healthcare closer to home. This expansive network underscores Acıbadem’s mission to connect with patients globally and extend its outreach even further.

Acıbadem is not just a provider, it is a pioneer in healthcare innovation. Supported by a team of over 3,300 specialists and 4,700 nurses, the organization leverages cutting-edge technology to deliver exceptional care. Acıbadem’s portfolio includes:

• 20 breast centers, including a newly opened facility this year in Istanbul.
• 11 accredited oncology centers.
• 16 heart care centers.
• 14 fertility centers.
• 10 organ transplantation centers.
• 10 spine and neurosurgery centers.
• 10 nuclear medicine centers.
•  6 robotic surgery centers.
•  3 FIFA-accredited sports medicine centers.

These centers are dedicated to providing the highest standards of care in their respective fields, solidifying Acıbadem’s reputation as a global leader in healthcare.

Innovations at Acıbadem Türkiye: Redefining Global Healthcare Excellence

Acıbadem Türkiye is celebrated worldwide for its groundbreaking medical achievements and unparalleled expertise in managing even the most complex medical cases. With a patient-centered approach and personalized treatment plans, Acıbadem has become a destination of hope for patients from across the globe. In 2023, the institution provided high-quality medical care to 55,000 patients from 148 countries, a testament to its reputation as a trusted choice for advanced healthcare. This unwavering trust has earned Acıbadem the prestigious title of “Greatest Healthcare Service Exporter” for an unprecedented 9th consecutive year.

While the dedication and expertise of Acıbadem’s world-class physicians remain at the heart of its success, cutting-edge technology plays an equally vital role. Acıbadem integrates advanced radiotherapy technologies, including CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, MR Linac, and Ethos, which leverage artificial intelligence to revolutionize cancer treatment. These technologies ensure unparalleled precision, safety, and efficacy, giving patients access to some of the most advanced medical solutions available today.

Acıbadem’s commitment to innovation extends far beyond current technologies. By continuously investing in research and advancements, the organization strives to set new benchmarks in patient safety, satisfaction, and surgical excellence, reaffirming its position as a global leader in healthcare innovation.

Some of the Groundbreaking Medical Achievements

In 2024, Acıbadem Türkiye welcomed 6 million patients from across the globe, each carrying stories of resilience and hope, ranging from plastic surgery to life-saving oncological treatmentsand organ transplantations. Among these were several remarkable cases that highlight Acıbadem’s expertise and commitment to transforming lives.

Separation of Conjoined Twins

At just 17 months old, conjoined twins from Algeria arrived at Acıbadem Atakent University Hospital in Istanbul for a life-changing separation surgery. Born with a congenital abnormality, the twins were joined at the chest and shared the pericardial sac, sternum, and chest tissues. Complicating matters further was a complex congenital heart condition.

The journey to separation involved months of meticulous planning and two surgeries totaling nine hours, performed by a multidisciplinary team of cardiovascular surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, and anesthesiologists. Thanks to extensive preoperative care, precision surgery, and thorough postoperative support, the twins now enjoy the freedom of independent lives.

Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease

After 11 years of battling Parkinson’s disease, a 67-year-old patient from Azerbaijan turned to Acıbadem Türkiye for hope. Her condition caused debilitating symptoms such as tremors, slowed movements, and dyskinesia as the effects of her medication wore off.

Under the care of Professor Dr. Fatih Bayraklı, she underwent Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a procedure designed to restore control over her movements. Following the successful surgery, she returned to her home country free from the symptoms that had disrupted her life for over a decade.

IVF Success for a Patient from Azerbaijan

A woman from Azerbaijan in her 40s, seeking to overcome the challenges of advanced maternal age, approached Acıbadem Türkiye’s IVF center. Guided by Professor Dr. Cem Fıçıcıoğlu, the patient underwent comprehensive pre-treatment testing, including genetic screening of embryos to ensure the best outcomes.

Following the correction of an internal uterine deformity, the embryos were successfully implanted, and the patient achieved a healthy pregnancy. She returned to her country with the joy of carrying twins, marking yet another success story for Acıbadem’s IVF program.

These extraordinary cases underscore Acıbadem Türkiye’s position as a trusted destination for complex medical treatments. By combining cutting-edge technology, world-class expertise, and a compassionate approach, Acıbadem continues to transform lives and provide hope to patients worldwide.

Contact us now to get a free second medical opinion from our experts: https://acibademinternational.com

Invites Visionary enterpreneures to build transformative buisness

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Derived from the Swahili word for ‘bold’, ‘brave’, and ‘courageous’, Jasiri is a transformative program under Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and early-stage startups to address critical societal challenges across Africa and meaningfully improve people’s lives. We invite visionary individuals from Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, passionate about building impactful businesses from scratch to apply for the Jasiri Talent Investor Program, Cohort 8. The application is open from 13th January 2025- 5th April 2025.

Youth unemployment is one of Africa’s most pressing challenges. Jasiri rmly believes that high-impact entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking the continent’s potential for job creation. Yet, aspiring entrepreneurs often face systemic barriers that hinder their ability to bring transformative ideas to life. Jasiri minimizes these barriers with a holistic, hands-on approach to entrepreneurship, ensuring that bold innovators can build businesses that benet society while contributing to an empowered, prosperous African citizenry.

Since 2021, we have supported 227 entrepreneurs who have created 93 ventures, with 81 of these ventures still active across 42 industries. These ventures operate in Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, addressing diverse challenges in sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, waste management, and more. Collectively, these startups have generated approximately 2,035 jobs and provided solutions that have positively impacted 12,627 individuals across their industries.

The Jasiri Talent Investor Program offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to:

  • Transform Ideas into Impact: Takes a long-term holistic approach to developing entrepreneurs by providing them with the time and space to identify ideas through a process of Problem & Opportunity Identication, Customer Development, Product Development, and Market entry (Venture Creation)
  • Access Tailored Support: Fellows benet from a structured program comprising a one-month online Jasiri Jumpstart, a three-month residential intensive, and nine months of venture creation.
  • Cultivate Leadership Skills: The program fosters ethical leadership values and behaviors to ensure sustainable, meaningful contributions to African societies.
  • Collaborate with Like-Minded Innovators: We believe that entrepreneurial teams are at the heart of successful venture creation, and provide the entrepreneur with access to a diverse group of potential co-founders.

If you are an individual with the drive to create businesses that address Africa’s most pressing challenges, we encourage you to apply for the Jasiri Talent Investor Program.

Applications are now open. Join us in transforming lives, creating jobs, and building a better future for Africa.

For further information about Jasiri Talent Investor, please contact Amandine Kayizali, Recruitment & Selection Manager, amandinek@jasiri.org.

To stay updated follow us @Jasiri4Africa.

About Jasiri

Jasiri invests in, nurtures, and empowers entrepreneurs who benet society and attack poverty by creating high-impact businesses, and new markets on the African continent. Jasiri believes that entrepreneurial teams are at the heart of new venture creation and provide entrepreneurs with access to a diverse group of potential co-founders. The program supports new ventures from idea generation to venture creation and takes a long-term approach to developing exceptional, responsible entrepreneurs on the African continent.

THREADBARE TRADITIONS, WEAVING UNRAVELS FAST

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The looming scarcity of essential imported materials has overshadowed traditional weaving in Addis Abeba. Weavers recall a time when Timqet festivities meant a flurry of orders in the northern outskirts of Shero Meda. They once earned at least 2,000 Br a day, but now struggle to pull in half of that. The cost of thread alone has soared from 30 Br to 300 Br a roll. Forced to take on multiple roles, from delivery to marketing and embroidery, a few weavers strive to honour the legacy of their forebears in an industry many are abandoning. On the third floor of a building the city government allotted to local weavers, the atmosphere differs from the dynamic “Sunday Market” era they fondly remember. Their workshop is mostly empty, and the lack of direct trade partnerships has stifled the flow of raw materials. It has also inflated prices beyond the reach of many workers, forcing them to buy through layers of merchants. Some items sold by producers for 5,000 Br end up retailing at 80,000 Br, exposing a glaring imbalance.

Disruptions brought by a corridor development project eroded the market, demolishing the shops that once thrived in Shero Meda. Underpinning this anguish is the widespread shift among consumers towards printed and imported chiffon fabrics. Increasingly facing economic uncertainty, price-conscious buyers prefer these lighter, cheaper materials they can wear more often than the heavier, more expensive hand-woven garments. Adding to the pressure, merchants frequently mark up the cost of threads and other inputs, leaving weavers with razor-thin margins. Embroidery workshops on the second floor mirror the same malaise. Social media lures customers, but even machine embroidery, a faster and sometimes cheaper method, is not enough to spark the robust demand of previous Timqet seasons. Taxes also weigh heavily; one embroiderer was slapped with a 95,000 Br bill. To cope, some have branched into newer crafts, hoping to appeal to the growing appetite for chiffon and modern designs.

Even the fashion-conscious segment of the market is not insulated from the shortages. A few designers who blend traditional hand-woven fabrics into contemporary outfits may have found success with new T-shirts and blouses. However, it has been undercut by a chronic lack of working capital and unpredictable input supply. Fearful of faulty raw materials, they juggle multiple suppliers, driving up operational costs. Such constraints restricted the expansion of what could be a thriving industry. Officials at the Ministry of Culture & Sport acknowledge that the spindly chain leaves weavers at the bottom of the earning pyramid. Efforts are underway to build direct links between producers and exporters, as well as to brand and legally protect cultural clothing. Experts warn that without integration of the cotton and weaving sectors and an inflow of younger talent, the time-honoured craft might struggle to maintain a presence in a country known for its vibrant textile heritage.

Hailu Shawel’s Family Embroils in Billion-Birr Property Dispute

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The family of the late Hailu Shawel, a civil engineer and a prominent opposition leader, is embroiled in a high-stakes lawsuit over assets allegedly worth billions of Birr. His widow and several children have pitted against his eldest son, Samson, over a complex web of inheritance claims, share transfers, and allegations of mismanagement.

Samson demands tens of millions of Birr in reimbursement, the reassignment of shares, and a formal audit of the family’s estate.

Claiming a five percent share in Samson Sports Plc, known for its ownership of Laphto Mall, Samson has taken the extraordinary step of suing his mother and siblings for what he alleges is an under-capitalisation of his share in a venture his legal team claims to be valued at five billion Birr. He demands 27.7 million Br, claiming that his ownership stake has been improperly diluted.

Laphto Mall, built in 1997, was erected on 10,000Sqm of land near Besrate St. Gabriel Church, is a landmark in an upscale neighbourhood. It features 33 multi-purpose spaces and has been billed as a family-oriented commercial centre. Samson Sports Plc, operates additional subsidiaries, though Samson alleges the lines between family assets and corporate holdings have blurred.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2024 at the Federal First Instance Court in Nifas Silk Lafto District, brought one of the well-known families to the limelight. Hailu, the patriarch, was a towering figure in the political opposition, particularly during the highly contested 2005 national election. Hailu led a four-party alliance under the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD), challenging the electoral hegemony of the EPRDF and winning Addis Abeba’s city council in a landslide. Hailu led the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) from 1996 to 2013.

The late Hailu had a storied career that placed him at the forefront of major public institutions. During his decades of service, he had stints heading the Ethiopian Transportation Authority, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation, and what was then the State Farms Development Authority. In 1983, he founded Shawel Consult International Plc, which eventually passed into the hands of his son, Shawel Hailu (PhD), who earned a doctorate from Wayne State University and currently holds CEO positions in Rekik Food Plc and SCI Plc.

When Hailu died in October 2016 at the age of 80, he left behind an expansive business that Samson claims “was never allocated in the orderly fashion mandated by Ethiopian inheritance laws.” He contended that his family’s “refusal to address alleged under-capitalisation and withheld dividends” compelled him to seek legal recourse. The affidavit of inheritance was registered twice, first in 2017 and later again to account for Pele’s interest, but Samson claimed that “shares remain improperly assigned.”

He also alleges that his mother and siblings have disregarded multiple attempts at an amicable resolution, pushing the family into limitations in a court of law.

Samson claimed that the defendants, his mother, Almaz Zewde, and siblings, including his brother, Shawel, along with Anteneh, Nadew, and Yamrot, have failed to pay his “rightful dividends,” ignoring repeated requests for accountability, and withholding what he claims is his inheritance. The legal wrangle intensified with Samson’s claim that he is entitled to additional shares once held by his late brother, Pele, who passed away after their father’s death and whose interest in the estate, Samson claims, has not been adequately recognised.

Samson contends that 2,743 shares in Samson Sports Plc were transferred to Shawel only temporarily in an era of political unrest, part of a broader process to safeguard the family’s assets should Hailu’s high-profile political activities draw unwanted attention. According to Samson’s affidavit, the initial intention was to register these shares under Pele, the youngest son, but the shares eventually ended up in Shawel’s name.

Samson appealed to judges that the shares belonged to him and the late Pele, arguing that the registration under Shawel was never meant to be permanent. He appealed to the Court to restore 274.3 of those shares, interest dating back to mid-2017, and to buy out his shares on the grounds that his position in the family enterprise had become “untenable.”

The case extends beyond the immediate question of Laphto Mall’s shares. Samson also claims the family has two houses in the Lafto District, one on 1,928Sqm and another on 1,258Sqm, which should be partially his, equivalent to 10.03pc ownership. He seeks 865,308.18 Br, which he says is his share of 9.4 million Br held in Nib International Bank and the Bank of Abyssinia accounts belonging to his late father. Included in Samson’s demands is a tranche of 792 shares in the Bank of Abyssinia, which he claims encompass inheritances from both Hailu and Pele.

Court documents also reveal he is pressing for payouts on 44 shares from Shawel Consult International Plc and 53 shares from Agrimecs Share Company, part of the late Hailu’s initial portfolio of 500 shares across different companies.

Samson alleges in his lawsuit that Almaz and Shawel, who hold a majority shares in Laphto Mall, “mismanaged corporate finances” and have “jeopardised the interests of other shareholders by diverting company and rental income for personal use.” The lawsuit alleges that dividends have not been distributed as required, leaving Samson to question the corporate structure built by his late father. He appealed for an official audit of company finances and a full accounting of the dividends he claims should have been paid since 2017, the year the inheritance was registered.

Court filings reveal Samson’s appeal for an immediate release of 10 million Br. He claims an urgent need for knee treatment in Bangkok, Thailand, which he says involves procedures necessary for his health and cannot be delayed while legal proceedings continue.

The Ethio-Alliance Advocates legal team, representing Samson, has summoned three witnesses — Bethlehem Ashenafi, Samson Hailu, and Firehiwot Mekonnen — to substantiate the allegations.