Ethiopia's Giant Leap for Digital Economy: the Next Normal

History May Look Back on this Time as Needless Moment

History May Look Back on this Time as Needless Moment

June 17 , 2020

It is characteristic of the general climate of confusion the year 2020 has set in Ethiopia and the global stage in general. There is an air of melancholy. In just a few mon...

Bereft of Popular Mandate, Hard to Keep the State Viable

Bereft of Popular Mandate, Hard to Keep the State Viable

May 31 , 2020

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has come a long way since his spectacular arrival at the top of Ethiopia’s political scene. In 2018, few would have predicted a state of poli...

Speed, Agility Lacking in Administration's Stimulus Package

Speed, Agility Lacking in Administration's Stimulus Package

May 23 , 2020

Countries in Africa are the least prepared to deal with the health and social consequences of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). There are only 20,000 ICU beds available in...

Public Space, Even on 'Mind-blowing' Projects, Means No Private Realm

Public Space, Even on 'Mind-blowing' Projects, Means No Private Realm

May 16 , 2020

In November 2019, the Mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, visited Addis Abeba for five days. She was honoured with the naming of a roundabout in her honor where the City Administration erected a r...

In November 2019, the Mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, visited...

Amendment, the Less Travelled, Least Unpleasant Way Forward than Interpretation

Amendment, the Less Travelled, Least Unpleasant Way Forward than Interpretation

May 9 , 2020

The unsavoury position Ethiopia finds itself in today was best described by Moussa Adem, a political scholar and politician. In a recent consultative meeting called to discuss the four options the adm...

The unsavoury position Ethiopia finds itself in today was best describ...

In the Face of Constitutional Crisis, House of Federation Can't Appear Lame Duck

In the Face of Constitutional Crisis, House of Federation Can't Appear Lame Duck

May 8 , 2020

Over the past two years, as conflicts and the breakdown of the rule of law rose and ebbed, the possibility of holding the national elections on time was never a foregone conclusion. If anything, the n...

Over the past two years, as conflicts and the breakdown of the rule of...

State of Emergency Should Not Inspire Worst Instincts of Gov't

State of Emergency Should Not Inspire Worst Instincts of Gov't

April 25 , 2020

There is a sense of irony to how the decision by the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) to invoke state of emergency powers has come to be viewed across Ethiopia's political landscape....

There is a sense of irony to how the decision by the administration of...

Timely Reminder: Regional States are Sovereign, So Says the Constitution

Timely Reminder: Regional States are Sovereign, So Says the Constitution

April 17 , 2020

Regional states in Ethiopia are created to serve the mere purpose of administration, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) recently argued. Addressing members of parliament during the ratification of the fi...

Regional states in Ethiopia are created to serve the mere purpose of a...