(The Africa Report 11/07/13)
As rhetorical battles raged last month, with analysts providing doomsday forecasts of an imminent water war, it was hightime someone poured a few gallons of realism on the Egypt-Ethiopia River Nile affair. As pressure from local opposition mounted in June, Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi sought to hit on a useful nationalist diversion in defending the sacred Nile. The now ousted Morsi's foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, said he would not surrender "a single drop" in negotiation over Ethiopia's $4.2bn Grand Renaissance Dam. But Ethiopia's energy minister, Alemayehu Tegenu, insisted it will take five to six years to fill the dam, stretching it out so that it will have minimal effects on Egypt and Sudan. A negotiating team, including Egypt, Sudan...
(Reuters (Eng) 07/07/13)
America's wealthiest universities are venturing into Africa's fast-growing frontier markets in search of outsized investment returns that will allow them to offer scholarships, lure star professors and fund research. For Sub-Saharan Africa, recognition from these deep-pocketed U.S. institutions, who have often earned envy among fellow global investors for their strong returns, marks a significant shift. American university endowments - permanent funds of educational institutions - pride themselves on spotting new investment opportunities early, such as venture capital, private equity and natural resources such as timber. Combined, they manage assets of over $400 billion. A study of 831 endowments by the Commonfund Institute and the National Association of College and University Business Officers published this year showed their annual net returns...
(The Associated Press 06/07/13)
There was no official update Saturday morning on the condition of the 94-year-old former president, who is in critical but stable condition after being diagnosed with a recurring lung infection. He was taken to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, on June 8. The government has said Mandela is not in a vegetative state, contrary to recent court documents. A close friend told Sky News that the anti-apartheid leader was conscious and responsive earlier this week. There has been an outpouring of concern in South Africa and around the world for Mandela, a transformative figure who led the tense shift from white rule to democracy two decades ago in a spirit of reconciliation.
(Ahram Online 13/06/13)
Egypt's National Security Board calls on presidency to tone down allusions to war between Egypt and Ethiopia; foreign minister dispatched to Addis to seek and offer 'good will'. Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr is expected in Addis Ababa next week for talks with top Ethiopian officials over Ethiopia's building of a mega dam over the Blue Nile that some argue may impact Egypt’s historic share of Nile waters. Amr is expected to underline in talks with Ethiopian interlocutors the need for Egypt and Ethiopia to work closely together to ensure that the proposed dam will have a minimal negative environmental impact and would take into consideration Egypt’s need for its full share of Nile water as per past agreements. The...
(Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency 12/06/13)
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said the nation would not stop construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for a second owing to the noises in Egypt. The Ministry also reiterated Ethiopia’s firm stance to work in friendship and cooperation with Egypt. The Ministry, in its press statement, recalled that Ethiopia has demanded explanation from Egypt through its ambassador in Addis Ababa on the negative propaganda that has been underway concerning GERD by some Egyptian officials, political and civil society leaders. Ethiopia has since then made clear the firm stand it has on cooperation, friendship and mutual benefit, it said. However, the negative messages concerning GERD were also disseminated on 10 June 2013 during a meeting called...
(The Associated Press 11/06/13)
JOHANNESBURG — The desk is spotless and books neatly line the shelves in Nelson Mandela's office at a Johannesburg-based foundation that carries his name, but the former South African president and anti-apartheid leader hasn't worked there for years. The meticulously preserved room is one of many tributes to the legacy of a former prisoner who became so revered for his efforts to reconcile a racially divided nation that many South Africans cannot bring themselves to speak openly about the possibility of his death. That reluctance is gradually eroding as the 94-year-old receives treatment for a recurring lung infection, spending a fourth day in a Pretoria hospital on Tuesday. President Jacob Zuma called Mandela's condition "very serious" but said he has...
(AFP (eng) 11/06/13)
JOHANNESBURG, June 11, 2013 (AFP) - Nelson Mandela was spending his fourth day in hospital Tuesday where he was being treated in intensive care for a lung infection. The 94-year-old former president was rushed to a Pretoria hospital early Saturday and was said to be in serious but stable condition. His latest health scare has been met with prayers and a growing acceptance among South Africans that their hero may be nearing the end of his life. "He is receiving intensive care treatment," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, who served jail time with Mandela, told AFP on Monday. He "remains in hospital, and his condition is unchanged," the presidency said after describing him as being in a "serious but stable" condition...
(The Associated Press 11/06/13)
CAIRO (AP) — Angry Egyptian lawmakers accused the country's prime minister and government on Monday of doing nothing to prevent Ethiopia from completing a dam that threatens to leave Nile-dependent Egypt with a dangerous water shortage. Prime Minister Hesham Kandil had just finished addressing parliament about how the government planned to work diplomatically, legally and technically to negotiate with Ethiopia over the dam when the session heated up. He called the dam's construction an "act of defiance" and stressed that Egypt will not give "a single drop of water," but then hurriedly left the chamber despite calls for clarification over how to handle the situation if Ethiopia rejects overtures. "Egypt will turn to a graveyard" if the dam is completed,...
(Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency 10/06/13)
Sudan’s Information Minister and Government Spokesperson Ahmed Bilal Osman insisted today that Sudan would benefit from the controversial Ethiopian renaissance dam and stressed that Ethiopia has engaged Sudan in all operations associated with the dam building. This is a report by the Sudan Tribune. At a press conference in Khartoum, Osman announced that Sudan’s minister of water resources and electricity Osama Abdalla Mohamed al-Hassan will travel for Cairo early next week. He said that the ten-member committee which includes representatives from Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt as well as international experts has dispelled all concerns raised about the dam, adding that Sudan is ready to send experts and technicians to help in the construction of the dam. The report further read...
(The Economist 06/06/13)
A RARE flicker of political protest graced the streets of Ethiopia’s otherwise regimented capital, Addis Ababa, on June 2nd. Demonstrators marched peacefully through the city, many carrying pictures of imprisoned loved ones. Later they gathered on Churchill Avenue, the capital’s main thoroughfare, where they were told that a new struggle had begun. Yilekal Getachew, the chairman of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) party, demanded the release of political prisoners and railed against unemployment, inflation and corruption. Activists claim that as many as 10,000 people attended; government officials say the number was nearer 4,000. Whatever the true figure, it was the biggest demonstration in Ethiopia since 2005, when protests amid claims of election rigging were violently suppressed, leaving nearly 200 unarmed protesters...
(Sudan Tribune 04/06/13)
June 3, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) - A newly founded opposition coalition, Semeyawi (Blue) party on Sunday hold demonstration in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa calling for the immediate release of detained political prisoners. Thousands of opposition members and supporters chanted; “We demand freedom”; “We demand justice”; and “release jailed political prisoners”. Protesters demanded the release of detained opposition members, journalists activists and Muslim leaders who they alleged were jailed on terrorism charges. Speaking to Sudan Tribune, Ethiopia’s government spokesperson, Shimels Kemal, denied that the East African country is holding political prisoners.He said most of the protesters on Sunday were Muslims who had hidden agendas.“Most of the protesters were Muslims who went out in the pretext of political rally” he said adding...
(Reuters (Eng) 26/04/13)
Africa's brisk economic growth over the past decade has been consumer driven, a much-hyped trend that masks the uncomfortable fact that the region remains far too reliant on commodities. Sub-Saharan Africa's growth has been second only to Asia and cracked along at 5.8 percent last year, according to a World Bank estimate, if South Africa, the continent's biggest economy, is excluded. About two-thirds of growth in the past decade has been driven by domestic demand, which has been stoked by a number of factors including the continent's fast-growing and young population. Consumption has had multiplier effects into a range of services including banking and finance. Yet unlike in Asia, Africa's consumer boom has been financed mostly by income generated from...
(Reuters (Eng) 28/02/13)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia's long-ruling leader died half a year ago, but it seems Meles Zenawi still holds on to power. In the capital, his face looks down from hundreds of posters plastered on walls, and government representatives vow to implement the late Meles' vision without alteration. Meles, who held tight control of the country since 1991, died Aug. 20 at the age of 57. A major U.S. counter-terrorism ally, Meles was credited with uplifting the country's poor, but he was condemned for human rights abuses and crushing the opposition. Since his sudden death, Meles' pictures and past statements have become commonplace throughout Addis Ababa, the capital, and smaller cities and towns. "Our great leader ... we will never...