Why Is Abiy Threatening Ethiopia’s Neighbors?: Next Africa
Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. Ethiopian President Abiy has threatened to disrupt his neighbors in a public lecture, stating that there is a risk of conflict if his landlocked nation does not secure direct access to the Red Sea. The comments were made following a two-year civil war that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Abiy's reputation as a man of peace has been tarnished by the conflict with Tigray, which has resulted in an uneasy peace between both sides. The government's battle against the northern province of Tigray has ended in a peace, with both sides licking their wounds. A Mozambican district court has ordered a vote recount in the southeast African nation’s biggest city, potentially leading to the main opposition gaining control of Matola. The US government's $1.5 billion of cash will be transferred to 15 million households vulnerable to rising food and fuel prices, each household receiving 25,000 naira ($31) payments for three months, according to Finance Minister Wale Edun. The country's largest economy is set to use the independent dollar in December 2025.
Pubblicato : 2 anni fa di Antony Sguazzin in Tech
Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email.
Fresh from a two-year civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people died and the economy went from one of Africa’s best performing to the verge of default, Abiy has chosen to threaten his neighbors.
In a public lecture, the Nobel Peace Prize winner warned that there’s a risk of conflict if his landlocked nation doesn’t secure direct access to the Red Sea.
The lack of access to harbors “prevents Ethiopia from holding the place it ought to have,” Abiy said in the televised speech. “If this is not going to happen, there will be no fairness and justice and if there is no fairness and justice, it’s a matter of time, we will fight.”
He invoked a 19th century Abyssinian warrior who had proclaimed the Red Sea as Ethiopia’s “natural boundary.”
Somalia said its territorial integrity is “sacrosanct.” Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a bitter three-decade war, described the comments as “excessive,” adding that all countries in the region were “perplexed.” Djibouti said its territory was unquestionable, “neither today nor tomorrow.”
In a neighborhood that’s been wracked by conflict for decades — and continues to be so, with Sudan in the midst of its own civil war and Somalia battling Islamist militants — the remarks seem an unwise course for Abiy to chart.
He has enough problems at home without adding to the ranks of his enemies.
The government’s battle against the northern province of Tigray has ended in an uneasy peace with both sides licking their wounds. Rebels from the neighboring Amhara region have also fought federal troops, while the building of a giant dam on the Blue Nile river has infuriated Sudan and Egypt.
Abiy’s reputation as a man of peace has been marred by the conflict with Tigray. Taking his country into a fight over access to a port would bury it.
Key stories and opinion:
Ethiopia Says Lack of Port Access Can Fuel Future Conflict
Somalia Rebuffs Ethiopia’s Bid to Gain Direct Access to Red Sea
Djibouti Latest Nation to Reject Ethiopia’s Red Sea Access Plea
Ethiopia’s Peace Rally All But Gone as Default Possibility Grows
Why Ethiopia’s $5 Billion Dam Has Riled Its Neighbors
Nigeria began distributing about $1.5 billion of cash to 15 million households vulnerable to rising food and fuel prices after the inflation rate climbed to highest in 18 years. Each household will receive 25,000 naira ($31) payments for three months, Finance Minister Wale Edun said. President Bola Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies and allowed the naira to weaken in a bid to revive economic growth, resulting in a jump in prices of everything from bread to bus fares. About 61 million people are expected to benefit from the cash transfer. Both the official and parallel naira rates fell to record lows this week against the dollar.
A Mozambican district court ordered a vote recount in the southeast African nation’s biggest city, a surprise move that could see the main opposition secure control of Matola if the initial result is overturned. Also, judges scrapped local-election results in parts of the capital, Maputo, after protests over what the main opposition called a “mega-fraud.” The vote is seen as a key indicator of what to expect in next year’s presidential election in the natural-gas-exporting nation. The ruling Frelimo party’s mayoral candidates had been declared winners in all but one of the nation’s 65 municipalities.
The Netherlands and Denmark have joined the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a landmark climate finance deal meant to help South Africa transition away from coal and serve as a prototype for similar pacts with Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. The initial members of the pact — the European Union, Germany, France, the US and UK — pledged $8.5 billion in finance. Separately, the US says its small modular nuclear reactors can help the continent cut emissions while adding flexible generation capacity more quickly than large atomic plants.
The US dollar will remain the dominant currency in Zimbabwe even after the government’s December 2025 deadline to stop its use in the economy, according to the country’s largest independent asset manager. Imara said the dollarization of the economy is actually accelerating since authorities curbed the local unit’s availability in July to preserve its value. Data from the national statistics agency showed 80% of all economic transactions in Zimbabwe are now done in the greenback.
Standard Bank is close to making a decision on financing a controversial $4 billion crude oil pipeline to link Uganda and Tanzania. Negotiations can conclude now that Tanzania has settled a disagreement with some Chinese funders on a separate matter, according to Kenny Fihla, an executive at the Johannesburg-based lender. Standard Bank will decide whether to invest as much as $100 million after project developer TotalEnergies, China’s CNOOC, Uganda and Tanzania agree on the financing structure.
Niger’s ousted leader is being held in an undisclosed location after the nation’s military leaders said it had foiled an attempt by Mohamed Bazoum to escape his Niamey residence. The junta, which has held power since a July 26 coup, announced it had made several arrests and opened an investigation in the attempted escape. “President Bazoum and his family are being held incommunicado,” his lawyer Reed Brody said in a text message. “They have had no access to their lawyers and no contact with the outside world for 36 hours.”
The war between Hamas and Israel has claimed close to 5,000 lives, according to authorities on both sides. This Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary explores the potential global fallout from the conflict.
Next Africa Quiz — Which African nation’s prime minister survived a bid in a UK court to remove him from office? Send your answer to [email protected].
• Nigeria’s inflation rate jumped for a ninth straight month in September on rising transport and food prices, reaching 26.7%.
• In South Africa, price growth accelerated to 5.4%, adding to chances interest rates will stay higher for longer.
• Liberia looks set for a runoff presidential vote. President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai were running neck-and-neck with both garnering around 44% support.
Solar power is set to dominate global electricity markets within the next few decades, and may have already reached an “irreversible tipping point,” according to a study published in Nature Communications. The research finds that solar adoption will continue apace barring any major policy shifts geared at disrupting it.
• Oct. 26 Botswana interest-rate decision, South African producer inflation data for September, Zambia inflation for October and trade data for September
Quote of the Week
“In 2023 we are talking about climate, we are talking about a world at risk, a world in crisis with transitions and tensions and a policy crisis,” said Vera Songwe, a resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and the former executive secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “Ten years forward, we are going to be talking about youth. One in every four people in the world will be African.”
South Africa is the only country from the continent remaining in both the rugby and cricket world cups, and its teams take on England in both formats on Saturday. The nation has never won the global cricket tournament but has a chance to add to its record (tied with New Zealand) of three rugby titles, including the last edition in 2019. Click here for a light-hearted look at the winners and losers during the second week of the cricket showpiece in India.
Temi: Africa, Ethiopia