Day: June 14, 2023

African countries should build their own capacity to be able to address disasters, Director of Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment at the African Union, Harsen Nyambe said.

A two-day validation workshop for the Second Africa Bi-Ennial Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) in Africa is underway in Addis Ababa.

The workshop aimed to bring together all member states of AU to validate the Second Africa Bi-Ennial Report on disaster reduction.

The workshop is looking at validating bi-Ennial report review report, which we do every two years to assess how member states perform in addressing issues of disasters, he said.

From the report, we expected that members of states will now be able to provide more inputs that can be taken to ministers who will meet in November this year, he stressed.

“What we expected from the member states is more to build their own capacity to be able to address those disasters,” he said, adding but more importantly, we have launched the multi- hazard early warning system for disasters.

He also elaborated that each member state will have its own early warning system, because it is better to be able to warn people before disaster strikes.

“In that way, people can be better prepared and they can avoid casualties,” he added.

He said we are supporting member states in terms of development of policies, but we are also actually training them on how to handle disasters but more importantly, actually for early warning.

“We have got a situation room here in Addis at AU headquarters, and we have been bringing member states, representatives of member states and regional economy communities to be trained on how to operate that because that’s one thing that we feel can help a lot in terms of alleviating disasters,” he stated.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.

The aim of the Sendai Framework is to achieve the sustainable reduction of disaster risks and losses in lives, livelihoods, and health and in the economic among others by 2030.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

A two-day Innovation Africa Digital Summit which focuses on the transformation of the telecom sector started here in Addis Ababa today.

Speaking on the occasion, International Telecommunication Union Regional Office for Africa Representative Caroline Gaju said the theme digital Africa is a reminder to all of us to combine efforts and work together to build an inclusive and sustainable digital future.

Africa’s digital transformation is indeed central to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and it aligns with ITU strategic goals of universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation, she added.

According to her, Africa has seen an increased demand for digital connectivity and access to digital services in the past few years.

Between 2019 and 2021, internet use in Africa increased by 23 percent and approximately 40 percent of the population was using the internet in 2020.

“Despite the increased demand, access to connectivity, reliable and robust digital infrastructure, are among the major challenges faced to advance digital transformation in Africa. Digital skills that enable citizens to leverage digital technologies remain critical and the active involvement of girls and young women through gender transformative policies and gender mainstreaming in education are powerful means to bridge the digital gender divide and enable digital inclusion.”

The biggest percentage of the population in Africa, approximately 70 percent are still below the age of 30, and as the leaders of tomorrow it’s fundamental that youth engagement is prioritized to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, she stated.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 760 million users have registered the use of mobile money services, which is one example of technology as a cross cutting for Digital Inclusion and Social and Economic Development.

Ethiopia’s Innovation and Technology Minister, Belete Mola said on his part that the government’s decision to liberalize and open up the telecom sector has brought significant changes to the sector, promoting competition, innovation, and investment and creating a strong digital ecosystem that is crucial to the country’s digital transformation.

In 2019, the government announced a major reform of the sector, which included the liberalization and opening up of the sector.

He noted that the reform has enabled ethio telecom to spearhead new strategies and the telecom sector is growing rapidly.

Access to mobile reached 68 million, which was around 32 million in 2019, while internet access surpassed 32 million, which was around 17 million 3 years back, the minister stated.

The proliferation of fintechs including digital payments, such as Telebirr, CBE Birr, and other products has also reached out to millions.

“For instance, Ethiopia’s digital payment ecosystem has facilitated transfers of over 1.2 trillion Birr in the past nine months, which is a big increase of 169 percent compared to the past fiscal year, which saw 454.01 billion Birr in digital money transfers.”

Belete further noted that one of the most promising areas of innovation is the use of artificial intelligence to analyze and extract insights from data which can be used to improve customer service, develop new products and services, and optimize network operations.

Safaricom Ethiopia Chief External Affairs and Regulatory Officer, Henok Tefera said the role of telecom companies such Safaricom is critical to contribute to the digitalization and development of Africa.

The company strongly believes in the Ethiopian market and success of the Ethiopian people, he stated, adding that Safaricom Ethiopia is heavily investing on the telecom sector in the country to enable the success of the Ethiopian digitalization drive.

“We have invested over 1.6 billion USD so far, to set up our shop and to enable the success of the Ethiopian digitalization drive. In line with our government’s 2025 digital transformation vision, we are also implementing a very aggressive infrastructure development plan through 4G connectivity.”

The chief officer pointed out that Safaricom Ethiopia will empower the dynamic and innovative youth in the 120-million-people country to pick the right skills to contribute to the success of the Ethiopian digitalization drive.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has adopted a roadmap for the resolution of the conflict in Sudan and commended the African Union-led and Ethiopian-owned successful peace process.

The 14th Ordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government was held on Monday, 12th June 2023, and was chaired by Malik Agar, the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan and representative of the Chair of the IGAD Heads of State and Government, it was indicated.

The assembly was also attended by leaders of the IGAD member countries and foreign affairs ministers including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In its communiqué sent to ENA, IGAD has adopted four point of action plans to resolve the ongoing Sudan crisis.

It Includes Ethiopia as the fourth member of the IGAD High-Level Delegation for the Peace Process in the Sudan; and for William Ruto, President of Kenya, to Chair the Quartet Countries of the Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan and for the Quartet to work in close coordination with the African Union Commission.

Within ten days, the Quartet would arrange a face-to-face meeting between General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the Chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, and General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo in one of the regional capitals, it was indicated.

Moreover, the communiqué stressed the need to secure a commitment from the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to establish a humanitarian corridor within two weeks.

Within three weeks, an inclusive political process towards a political settlement of the conflict in the Republic of Sudan will be initiated, it added.

Expressing alarm regarding the continued fighting and the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Sudan, it commended the unrelenting efforts of IGAD High-Level Delegation led by Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of Sudan, towards the de-escalation of armed engagements and resolution of the conflict in Sudan.

The communiqué also lauded the African Union, the AU High-Level Panel, and the African Union Commission, the AU Monitoring, verification, and compliance mission, the IGAD Executive Secretary for supporting the implementation of this AU-led and Ethiopian-owned successful peace process.

IGAD further called upon regional and international partners to support Ethiopia`s efforts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of conflict-affected areas in northern Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report issued a fortnight ago is a destabilizing agenda intended to disrupt the ongoing peace agreement in Ethiopia, an American journalist who visited the area stated in the report noted.

The American journalist, Jemal Countess, told ENA that the Human Rights Watch and other international human rights organizations have repeatedly failed to employ proper working procedures during investigations.

According to him, the Human Rights Watch latest sensational report containing a litany of allegations of grave human rights violations is solely a compilation of phone reports.

The journalist, who visited the areas cited in the report last year noted that these organs have had years to engage people doing phone reports even from other countries and adjacent countries.

The fact is those people have never seen anything on the ground, he stressed.

“Whether people who may or may not exist, but they had the opportunity to have a phone report about these places and say something. It is completely questionable.”

As he had witnessed the facts on the ground, Countess rejected the latest Human Rights Watch report that has basically reversed the circumstances.

The American described the report as a statement employed by a destabilizing agent.

Moreover, it can obstruct the ongoing peace process that has ended the two-year war in northern Ethiopia by fueling ethnic conflict, he underscored.

Therefore, “I think that drastic action is required on the part of governments and other entities like human rights entities in Ethiopia and in the region for that matter. This body (Human Rights Watch) is a destabilizing agent that challenges the entire region, not just Ethiopia.”

Countess believes that most of the international human right organs are instrumental for intervention to achieve their geopolitical interest in Africa by putting pressure on the ground.

Africans, therefore, need to band together and support other Africans.

“Those human right organizations think that they have free reign to spew anything they want. That is why I am saying this needs to be a collective African effort. Multiple countries and other players just need to start the call and force change because the reason is this can’t go on like this.”

The journalist finally urged all Ethiopians to reinforce the reconciliation and justice efforts and avoid divisive agendas that lead to unnecessary conflicts.

“We need to move forward in that way. At the same time this needs to be a collective voice, basically to reject conflict entrepreneurs,” Countess pointed out.

Recall that the Ethiopian government declared that Human Rights Watch’s report is a distorted and misleading portrayal of the situation that attempts to undermine peaceful coexistence and fuel inter-ethnic conflict in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency