Tigray War
Ethiopia’s Government Postpones Ethio Telecom Privatisation Process
Image sourced from FurtherAfrica. The government of Ethiopia has announced today that it will be postponing the ongoing privatisation process of the state-owned Ethio Telecom, and did not set a timeframe for when the process will continue. In an announcement posted to Twitter by the official account of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, the Ethiopian federal government says that due to “recent developments” and “fast-moving macroeconomic changes both globally and from a country perspective, the government of Ethiopia has decided to postpone the privatisation process” of Ethio Telecom. pic.twitter.com/rNLYAijWnX — Ministry of Finance – Ethiopia (@MoF_Ethiopia) March 18, 2022 “The government of Ethiopia believes that taking time to accommodate the improved macroeconomic situation as well as ...
Safaricom’s Plans in Ethiopia Hit Snag Due to Possible US Payment Ban
Image sourced from Techweez Safaricom’s plans to expand into Ethiopia have hit a complication as a US State financier is threatening to recall its loans to a Safaricom-led consortium following an escalation of armed conflict in the horn of Africa. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) says that acts of violence against civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region could affect the release of $500-million in loans to the consortium. If the conflict deepens, it could push the DFC to forgo the investments altogether and pressure the telecoms in the consortium to seek finances from elsewhere. War in Tigray DFC’s financing of the consortium had previously been thrown into doubt over US economic sanctions against Ethiopia related to the ongoing conflict in Tigray, which has killed t...
Red Cross condemns ‘horrific’ sexual violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray
The Red Cross voiced alarm Thursday over “horrific” accounts of sexual violence in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region, amid fears that rape was being used as a weapon of war. Robert Mardini, director-general of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, said the organisation’s staff in hospitals and clinics in the region were hearing first-hand of extreme sexual violence. “Those reports are extremely horrific, very shocking,” he told AFP in an interview, adding that this was a “matter of grave concern”. “I haven’t heard such terrible accounts for more than two decades in the humanitarian sector,” said Mardini, who among other things closely followed the civil wars in Syria and Yemen when he headed ICRC’s Near and Middle East division from 2012 to 2018. “Many of my humani...
