The limits of legal solutions

Original analysis at https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2020/05/18/the-limits-of-legal-solutions/ An inclusive caretaker government is a better option than a suspect constitutional interpretation process controlled by the incumbent Given that the World Health Organization says the coronavirus is here to stay and we must learn to live with it, partly as vaccines and treatments may take years, how can the need to safeguard our physical, ...

In-Depth Analysis: Waiting for Godot: Pandemic and Elections in Ethiopia

In-depth analysis posted in Addis Standard: https://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-waiting-for-godot-pandemic-and-elections-in-ethiopia/ Addis Abeba, May 07/2020 – The Prime Minister of Ethiopia has just announced that the ruling party will stay in power until the next election.  Both the end of the Covid-19 and the polls are like waiting for Godot, and no one knows the arrival. In the absence of a constitutive ...

The way to a pragmatic containment strategy for Covid-19 in Africa

Originally published on TRT World: https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/the-way-to-a-pragmatic-containment-strategy-for-covid-19-in-africa-35896/amp The lives versus livelihoods dilemma is stark on the African continent and requires a localised approach. The Covid-19 virus has now hit almost every country in Africa, and altogether there are more than 36,847confirmed cases with 1589 deaths. The predicted level of infection from current models is almost too ghastly to contemplate, ...

What should Africa’s strategy to counter Covid-19 be? A strategy for containment

Originally published on Addis Standard, April 9, 2020: https://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-what-should-be-africas-strategy-to-counter-covid19-a-strategy-for-containment/ Super sense of urgency: clarity, clarity and clarity of strategy Addis Abeba, April 09/2020 – The current Covid-19 pandemic, like most of its kind, poses two closely interlinked challenges. They can be summarized as the demands for urgent actions needed to contain the outbreak; and the requirement ...

The Trump Trap

Originally published on Addis Standard, March 11, 2020: https://addisstandard.com/commentary-the-trump-trap/ Addis Abeba, March 11/2020 – After four months of intense mediation efforts between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the question of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the US government and the World Bank have failed to get Ethiopia’s signature on a proposed agreement they put forward.  ...

COVID-19 – Africa’s Looming Humanitarian and Security Crisis

Originally published on All Africa, March 24, 2020: https://allafrica.com/stories/202003240907.html Addis Ababa — Africa remains by far the most vulnerable continent in terms of viral and bacterial infections. Covid-19 is likely to prove the worst of these. Numbers shift constantly, but by 24 March 2020, more than 1,788 Covid-19 cases and 58 deaths had been reported in 43 African ...

Covid-19: Why it is so difficult for Africa to ‘flatten the curve’

Originally published on Mail & Guardian, 24th March 2020: https://mg.co.za/article/2020-03-24-covid-19-why-it-is-so-difficult-for-africa-to-flatten-the-curve/ Covid-19 has now hit more than 40 African countries, with almost 2000 confirmed cases as of March 23. So far, the coronavirus has been slow to spread across Africa, but there are several factors unique to the continent that could make it difficult to reduce the rate of ...

The Tigray Dilemma

Original analysis at http://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-the-tigray-dilemma/ @DrMehari  The tension between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and National Regional State of Tigray is getting more overt, complicated and acute. Rarely have the stakes been so high for Ethiopia. It is high time to take stock of this dangerous situation and proceed with circumspection, sensitivity, and wisdom. In the ...

The EU-Africa nexus: promise and purpose

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/eu-africa-nexus-promise-and-purpose/ Authored by Fabrizio Tassinari and Mehari Taddele Maru @DrMehari and @f_tassinari Only by recognizing and sharing the values derived from its unique transnational experience can Europe meet the promise of its holistic partnership with Africa. On her first week in office, newly elected president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made Ethiopia the destination ...

The Nobel Prize for Abiy Ahmed: Turning an irony into an opportunity

@DrMehari The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia seems full of irony, and in many ways – perhaps too many.  But first, and following convention, one must congratulate the new Laureate. It would be improper not to recognize the honor merely because of seriously-held disagreements with the ...